21 Oct 2024
With film crews becoming a regular feature on our streets, Alex Assadian attempts to compile a definitive guide to the St Albans district’s many appearances on film and television…
We’re blessed to live in a city rich in history and with diverse landscapes which serves itself well to filmic interpretation. After living here for a while, you will no doubt hear rumours about certain films and shows being shot here, but it’s often hard to make the distinction between fact and fiction.
Well, the St Albans Times aims to please and so we’ve comprehensively researched some of the most famous titles filmed here. We don’t claim to be fully comprehensive but we’re sure you’ll appreciate some of the ‘oh yeah, of course’ moments you’re about to discover. And watch this space for future shoots as it seems, with Elstree Studios around the corner and fantastic travel links to London, as well as a plethora of historical buildings, St Albans is an ever-thriving film set for productions.
Respectfully, you must have been living under a rock if you didn’t hear about the 2023 film Wonka – with man of the moment Timothee Chalamet – being filmed in Verulamium Park! The prequel to the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory films, Chalamet portrays Wonka as a young man finding his feet and his confectionery fortune. St Albans council received £41,000 for the park to serve as a set, of which £25,000 was dedicated to improvements currently being considered as part of a park action plan.
Fake snow, classic cars, a carousel and vintage street lights were utilised to create a magical winter world of yesteryear, in which Chalamet sang his way across the park. Abbey Mill Lane was also used for scenes with Jim Carter. It’s a fantastic family movie with some excellent performances by Hugh Grant, Olivia Colewood and Matt Lucas and is well worth a watch, especially for a glimpse of our lovely park in full effect.
Arguably next in the line-up of star power, is Johnny English (2003) with the rubber-faced Rowan Atkinson.
A spoof thriller drama with Atkinson as an inefficient but endearing spy (think Bean not Bond) and with John Malkovich and Natalie Imbruglia part of the cast, St Albans Cathedral was used as a double for Westminster Abbey in the film’s climatic coronation scenes.
In tribute, the Cathedral is showing Johnny English during the Alban Film Week ( October 29 to November 2) – providing the perfect setting in which to watch the film in all its goofy glory.
It’s not the only time, the Cathedral has stood-in for Westminster Abbey.
For the award-winning series The Crown, the Cathedral entrance was used for the arrival of Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) for her wedding to Antony Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode) in Season 2, episode 7. It was also used at the same time for the christening of Prince Edward (Season 2, episode 10).
Certainly logistically more practical and affordable than the real-life Westminster Abbey but still with plenty of ‘wow factor’, it makes an ideal substitute.
Younger readers most likely haven’t even heard of Porridge as it ran from 1974-1977 but many of us oldies will remember it fondly. A classic British sitcom starring Ronnie Barker and set in the ‘HMP Slade’ prison, it was vital that scenes of cell life were portrayed both inside and out. However, given the British government barred any filming inside a real prison, producers had to find a dummy site and looked to the old gatehouse of the former St Albans prison – now the register office – which was used for all opening credits.
Another oldie but a goodie was Inspector Morse (1987-2000), a TV detective series featuring John Thaw who was an unorthodox but successful Police Inspector who liked a good pint or ten. In the episode ‘Sins of the Fathers’, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks provides the backdrop for some detective sleuthing between Morse and Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) as they deliberate over two murders at a family brewery.
The Inbetweeners (2008-2010) was a coming of age, laugh-until-you-snort comedy with some iconic, unforgettable moments centred around school students. In the first episode of the second series, the gang of misfits undertook a geography field trip to Swanage – except it was Market Place in St Albans that doubled up for the city and where Jay (James Buckley) gets a well-deserved slap.
Given that St Albans is just a hop, skip and a jump from nearby London and dozens of Greater London film studios, it’s a convenient destination to make a fleeting cameo. Such glimpses can be caught in shows such as Silent Witness and Commodity episode (series 17) where Bank House at 122 Fishpool Street is used as a backdrop.
Oaklands College has hosted independent production house BritPack for the short sci-fi film The Manual (2017) and also according to a few sources, has been used for scenes in the applauded film Snatch (2000) with none other than Brad Pitt, Jason Statham and Stephen Graham. Although I don’t dare specify what point as there are a lot of agricultural and warehouse backdrops that could match up!
Channel 4’s Humans (2015-2018) showcased French Row in St Albans for scenes with main protagonist Joe Hawkins (Tom Goodman-Hill) in 2016. Long-running Foyle’s War (2002-2015) returned to St Albans for several episodes employing Verulamium Park, St Michael’s Street and the former Town Hall for dramatic scenes between characters.
Back to films and 2013’s The World’s End with Simon Pegg is a wacky comedy that just a few minutes in features the Da Vinci Hall at the Marlborough Science Academy in St Albans, as the main character extols the virtues of the infamous, ‘Golden Mile’ pub crawl to his self-help group.
Incendiary (2008) used several St Albans backdrops and sites and stars mega-celebs Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams. Filming took place in April 2007 and put St Albans to full good use, in and around the Cathedral, St Peter’s Street, the market , the city station, St Albans School and Westminster Lodge! For film fans, keep an eye out to see Robert Dyas in St Peter’s Street became a discount sports store, Specsavers in Market Place a florist and a funeral scene take place at the Cathedral.
Further afield, Suffragette (2015) used the Highfield Oval in Harpenden for scenes of a laundry where the character Maud works.
Funny to think it played host to the legendary Meryl Streep as well as acting heavyweights Helena Bonham Carter and Carey Mulligan.
St Albans Cathedral is certainly well-suited for official scenes but can also be employed to very different effect. First Knight (1995) employed the exquisite setting of the Lady Chapel for the wedding of Arthur (Sean Connery) and Lady Guinevere (Julia Ormond). All brooding intensity and romance.
In contrast, spoof comedy The Windsors’ Royal Wedding Special showcased the wedding of Harry (Richard Goulding) and Meghan (Kathryn Drysdale) with exceptional pomp and farce.
It is no secret that Hertfordshire is home to several studios (Leavesden and Elstree are the most significant), but what is little known today is that at one point EON Studios was a major filmmaking studio and was housed in a former supermarket warehouse in Frogmore.
The studio opened in 1997, cost approximately £2 million and had three soundstages. EON Productions were responsible for producing the first ever Bond film and most since. Given Leavesden was booked for Star Wars, they had to find a suitable space and quick – they were able to do this thanks to St Albans council, converting the warehouse into studios for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) starring Pierce Brosnan.
Harpenden has the claim to fame of having been used in the critically-acclaimed Black Mirror series (2011-2024) created by Charlie Brooker, in the episode ‘Shut Up and Dance’ (Season 3, episode 3). Look out for the Beacon Private Trust’s Ellerd House on Amenbury Lane which doubles up as the National Allied Bank.
Other honourable mentions include the ITV drama series Fallen Angel (2007) which was also filmed at the Cathedral, as well as Grantchester (2014-2024) with the lovely Robson Green, filmed on York Road and Pudding Lane. Dr Foster (2015-2017), with Suranne Jones, was filmed outside Bar Mezé in Adelaide Street, as well as around the Verulamium Museum car park and St Michael’s Street. Rosemary and Thyme (2003-2006) was filmed at Gorhambury House.
Legendary school drama Grange Hill brought an entire class to St Albans for a 1983 episode, with Zammo and Jonah seen alongside the likes of Roland Browning in the city centre and at the Roman Theatre. The city also featured in The Morning After, an episode of 1960s cult classic The Avengers, with an aerial shot and location work in Fishpool Street, Portland Street and Albert Street.
Back to film and Gorhambury House and its grounds was also employed in Victoria and Abdul (2017) in which beloved Dame Judie Dench was directed by Stephen Frears in the story of Queen Victoria’s friendship with Abdul Karim. In The Great Muppet Caper (1981) the old prison doubled up as the prison in which Mrs Piggy is locked up.
Birthday Girl (2001) with none other than Nicole Kidman, was written by brothers from St Albans (Jez and Tom Buttersworth who grew up here) about a man from St Albans and featured plenty of snapshots of the city, including Drovers Way car park!
Swimming with Men (2018) about an amateur, middle-aged male sychronised swimming team featuring Rob Bryden, utilised local outdoor pool, the Cottonmill swimming pool (home to the St Albans Sub Aqua Club). 1993’s Dirty Weekend featured a gun shop which actually was, the real gun shop in Park Street (‘Park Street Guns’) which is still there in operation today. And Bonded by Blood 2 (2017) features a scene in which characters Dean and Damon argue on location at the Park Industrial site in Frogmore.
Romantic comedy Romantic Getaway on Sky features Romesh Ranganathan and Katharine Ryan and used Pageant Road in St Albans as the front for their terraced home, with the White Hart Tap pub sign and St Albans Cathedral evident in the background.
And now, a potential red herring? I’ve seen from a couple of reputable sources that Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) was filmed in St Albans but after a trawl through the internet realms and a painful re-watch (onfast-forward naturally) demonstrating my dedication to this magazine, and I can’t suss out where you can catch a glimpse. Should any savvy readers have any insights, please message the editor Matt and put me out of my misery!
Another St Albans legendary film tale is that of Tom Cruise frequenting and championing Indian restaurant Veer Dhara when it was in St Peter’s Street – I’ve heard very high tales of stonking huge tips and Kubrick tagging along with an entire film crew (both of which have been discounted as Kubrick was already dead for one) but what isn’t up for debate is that Tom Cruise did visit the Northern Indian curry house and in fact, a short film Tom Tom (2013) was made about it and submitted to the St Albans Film Festival by Daria Kulesh (in which everyone in it wore a Tom Cruise mask but sadly, Tom himself didn’t make a cameo). Now I haven’t been able to find it online personally but Daria, if you care to share with Matt and I – please do!
Now we’ve whetted your appetite with plenty of archive film and television to delve into, what about what’s coming up or is brand new to watch?
First up is Netflix’s Treason (2022), a five-episode limited series starring Charlie Cox, Oona Chaplin and Ciarán Hinds, which features Childwickbury Manor, Stanley Kubrick’s former home and production studios. It’s available to stream now. Likewise available on Netflix is Locked In (2023), another movie featuring the grandiosity of the St Albans Cathedral. Filming has also taken place on St Peter’s Street outside The Boot pub. See if you can spot either!
Next year ITVX will be screening thriller Code of Silence with deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis as the lead, which features Marshalswick’s EYES on St Albans and Fade to Black coffee shop as well as the Garibaldi pub.
TV mini-series Mary and George (2024) premiered on Sky Atlantic in March 2024 and centres around the ravishing Julianne Moore as the Countess of Buckingham and her son George Villiers, as they target and seduce King James I. It was filmed at the hidden-away 17th century Rothamsted Manor in Harpenden. If you want to soak up the ambiance and walk the footsteps of Hollywood royalty, then keep an eye out for their practically regal afternoon teas hosted there.
In March of this year, Universal film trucks were seen in Verulamium Park but it’s yet to be disclosed what they were there for. Another film shoot, rumoured to be Mandrake starring David Tennant but also still to be confirmed, took place in March 2024 on York Road.
No doubt that St Albans with its historical sites and sights, and diverse urban and rural landscape, will continue to be utilised for many more exciting TV and film projects into 2025 and beyond, so keep your eyes peeled for more glimpses caught on camera.
