Movies
Grantchester: Filming Locations from Cambridge to Kent
Grantchester filming locations centre on the village church in Grantchester and the colleges and streets of Cambridge, with Sussex and Kent standing in for Cambridge station and London.
The drama follows an Anglican vicar and a Detective Inspector solving crimes in 1950s Cambridgeshire. This route visits six real places used on screen: the church, King's Parade, Newnham College, St John's College, Horsted Keynes station and Chatham Dockyard. Several of them play other places than themselves.
Timeline & locations
What do the location labels mean?
- Exact
- The pin marks the actual place where it happened or was filmed.
- Approximate
- The right area — a town, park or district — but not a precise spot.
The series is set in the 1950s and 60s in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester, where vicar Sidney Chambers teams up with Detective Inspector Geordie Keating to solve crimes. The village itself is a filming location, and the Church of St Andrew and St Mary supplies the church interior and churchyard scenes. The oldest part of the building dates from the 12th century, so the stone you see on screen is far older than the 1950s setting.
Visitor guidance: The church is a working parish church in Grantchester village; visit outside services.
Sources
- Church of St Andrew and St Mary, Grantchester
- Locator:
- History
- Church of St Andrew and St Mary, Grantchester
When the story heads into Cambridge, King's Parade is where the 1950s come back to life. The production has transformed the street to represent various 1950s street scenes, complete with period cars and buses. King's College sits on the west side of the street, which gives the street its name. It is a major tourist area, so expect crowds, cyclists and students.
Visitor guidance: A public street in central Cambridge, open at all times.
Sources
- Grantchester (TV series)
- Locator:
- Plot; Production
- King's Parade
- Locator:
- Introduction
- Grantchester (TV series)
The first episode of series five takes the vicar into university life, in a plot featuring the death of a student after a May Ball. The women's college in the story is the real Newnham College, founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies. It was the second women's college founded at Cambridge, after Girton.
Visitor guidance: Newnham is a working college; check visiting rules before entering.
Sources
- Grantchester (TV series)
- Locator:
- Plot; Production
- Newnham College, Cambridge
- Locator:
- Introduction; In popular culture
- Grantchester (TV series)
The same episode needs a men's college, and the series invents one. It is fictional, but the scenes were filmed at St John's College, Cambridge, founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort under a charter dated 9 April 1511. So Newnham appears as itself, while St John's plays an imaginary neighbour.
Visitor guidance: The college is a working one; check opening times before visiting.
Sources
- Grantchester (TV series)
- Locator:
- Plot; Production
- St John's College, Cambridge
- Locator:
- Introduction
- Grantchester (TV series)
Cambridge station on screen is not in Cambridge at all. Horsted Keynes railway station, on the Bluebell Railway in West Sussex, doubles for it. The station was closed by British Railways on 28 October 1963 and is now a preserved line, so steam-era platforms are ready-made for a 1950s drama. The main station building, signal box and engine house are Grade II listed.
Visitor guidance: Open on Bluebell Railway running days; check the timetable.
Sources
- Grantchester (TV series)
- Locator:
- Plot; Production
- Horsted Keynes railway station
- Locator:
- Introduction; History; Listed buildings
- Grantchester (TV series)
London in the series is largely Kent. Chatham Dockyard has doubled for various London locations, including the exterior of Kings Cross Station and Borough Market, as well as a warehouse and ropery. Its cobbled streets and over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings make a convincing period backdrop. The Georgian site is now a visitor attraction run by a trust.
Not pinned on the mapVisitableLocation precision: The dockyard plays several London sites, so no single scene pin is given.
Visitor guidance: Visit as Chatham Historic Dockyard, a visitor attraction.
Sources
- Grantchester (TV series)
- Locator:
- Plot; Production
- Chatham Dockyard
- Locator:
- Overview
- Grantchester (TV series)