West Country Locations to Feature in New Wolf Hall Series

The second series of Wolf Hall, set to premiere on Sunday, will showcase several recognizable locations from the West Country. This BBC production chronicles the life of Tudor statesman Thomas Cromwell and is based on the novel by Dame Hilary Mantel, who passed away just prior to the commencement of filming for the second series. Key sites across Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire are prominently featured in the six-episode series, which will air on BBC One at 21:00 GMT this Sunday. Alice Kennard, who owns Forde Abbey in Chard, Somerset, stated that approximately 250 cast and crew members “totally took over” the property during filming. For the new series, Wells Cathedral in Somerset will portray the Palace of Whitehall, the location of Henry VIII’s marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour. Montacute House, situated in South Somerset, will once again serve as Greenwich Palace, known as the place of Anne Boleyn’s arrest and her husband’s primary London residence. In the initial series, it provided the setting for jousting sequences and accommodated the royal tent. Additionally, Great Chalfield Manor, located near Melksham, Wiltshire, was converted into Austin Friars, the residence of Thomas Cromwell, portrayed by Sir Mark Rylance. Horton Court, near Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, is also featured in the new series, functioning as Cromwell’s study, alongside Gloucester Cathedral. The acclaimed Wolf Hall makes its return after a hiatus of nearly a decade, with its first series having been broadcast in early 2015. Sir Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Timothy Spall, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster were among the notable actors who came to Alice Kennard’s 900-year-old estate, Forde Abbey, for the filming of the new series. Mrs. Kennard described welcoming the cast and crew as both “fun” and “all consuming.” “They were just lovely,” Mrs Kennard commented. She added, “They actually turned our great hall into Hampton Court, which was an interesting one, and they used the cloisters.” “We’re very lucky because the house is nearly 900 years old, we span a huge range of history and have got bits that are suitable for all those kinds of periods they were looking for,” she explained.