Bridgerton’s covetous filming locations around Regency Britain

The ever-so-appropriate sets for Bridgerton’s vigorous scenes are yours, writes Thomas Bywater

Bridgerton is back for a second series. A complement of walks and pecs, bodices and balls, by appointment from Shonda Rhimes.

Netflix’s pop-colored adaptation of Julia Quinn’s novels has all the shy viscounts and countesses of a royal wedding, but it’s the delightfully award-winning and appropriate country estates that have won our hearts.

We’ve ogled some of the UK’s most coveted National Trust Regency batteries set to appear in the upcoming series. Here are some of these houses, open to the public, in which we would “very much like to participate”.

Castle Howard, Yorkshire

The Grade I listed 1700s palace is the crown jewel of what conservation has called the Treasure Houses of England. There simply aren’t many houses as grand as these 145 rooms crowned by a central cupola. Moviegoers will recognize it instantly.

From Brideshead to Barry Lyndon, this Yorkshire stately home is a regular star of period romance, but hasn’t been cataloged. Its 3600 ha of well-kept parks and its neoclassical masonry make it the chameleon of the backdrop for costume drama.

Among his other notable credits are two Bollywood films and a live-action animation of Garfield the House Cat. A house with such a colorful repertoire is perfect for Bridgerton.
In the show – again – Castle Howard plays the backdrop to Simon and Daphne’s joyous speech, appearing in the series’ final images.

Wilton House, Salisbury

This square stately home is the face of Bridgerton. Appearing in every episode – and doubling up in a few other locations – Wilton House in Salisbury is instantly recognizable as the home of Queen Charlotte’s throne room (of Marlborough Sounds fame).

Netflix fans will recognize the lobby from a more contemporary royal teledrama, The Crown: When Charles Met Diana.

For 400 years Wilton was home to the Earls of Pembroke. They are still there, although two-thirds of the house is open to the public.

Badminton House, Gloucester

Chipping Sodbury, the Gloucester town near Badminton House, looks like a character straight out of a costume drama.

Before Bridgerton, badminton had appeared little in the cinema. However, it was used extensively in the Netflix series with the gardens and grounds filling Clyvedon Castle.

The house is not normally open to the public – although private tours are available on request. Once a year the grounds hold the Badminton Horse Trials – a sporting event worthy of the grand estate. Every May, spectators and riders from all over the world visit the famous cross-country course. He also provides an unlikely link to Kiwi, with the New Zealand runners winning gold four times in the past 10 years.

Holburne Museum and the Royal Crescent, Bath

Jane Austen’s favorite ground with her bonnet: Bath is the backdrop for many costume dramas in the UK. The entire one mile walk between the Holburne Museum and the Georgian Royal Crescent is made of honey colored Bath Stone and is well worth the walk.

Holburne Museum is a public place that also serves as Lady Danbury’s London townhouse. It’s packed with pieces that have inspired television costumers and prop makers through the ages. What Bridgerton cameras didn’t show you was the modernist wing of the ceramic-clad gallery designed by Eric Parry – keeping visitors firmly in the 21st century.

On the other side of this cinematic walk through Bath are Bath Circus and the Royal Crescent.

A stand-in for the Grosvenor Square home of the three Featherington sisters, of course, is a far cry from London. Instantly recognizable, the World Heritage property has the same Unesco designation as the Taj Mahal. But who can blame the location scouts? The horseshoe of 30 terraced houses is as irresistible as the steaming Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings.

Stowe House, Buckinghamshire

Yet another regency building masquerading as another, the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens at Bridgerton’s Ball are none other than Stowe House.

The Temple of Venus and man-made lake are the perfect setting for a glittering celebration in the TV series, but the parks are just as beautiful in the daytime. The tiered Gardens of Love are the main attraction and – as with any good period romance – there’s a choice to be made: the garden is split in two between the Paths of Virtue and Vice. Conceived in the 1700s by the aptly named head gardener “Mr Love”, the follies and false temples in the park hint at seriously scandalous tales of classic seductresses and mythical villainy. A bath, marble Venus and various nymphs and shepherds are hidden in the gardens. Naughty stuff.

Run by the National Trust, the house and gardens are open to the public for an entrance fee and the surrounding park grounds are free to enter.

The second season of Bridgerton is available on Netflix from Friday, March 25