London is known worldwide for its amazing period properties and heritage locations. These offer location filming a level of authenticity and historical accuracy that is hard to find anywhere else in the world. However, preserving and protecting these locations from the activity of a busy film or television production, can be a challenge unto itself.

Film London’s Winona Navin-Holder spoke to some of our partners about the different creative ways in which they protect and conserve heritage locations, and parkland.

{10-11} Carlton House Terrace - Venue Perspective

Amie Murphy, Venue Business Development & Marketing Manager at {10-11} Carlton House Terrace, shared some of her experiences filming within a listed building.

Amie: We are widely regarded as a treasure of Georgian architecture, the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner has in fact described the Terrace as among ‘the greatest terrace houses ever built in Britain’. I believe our architecture, and the fact we have been able to retain so many historic details within the building, make us quite a unique filming location. We were a family home for over a century and have therefore been able to keep pristine historic interiors. We’re also very lucky to have a fantastic estates team who keep the building in very good nick.

We’ve been fortunate to work with some wonderful productions at {10-11} Carlton House Terrace including most recently Disney’s Cruella and the latest 007 movie No Time to Die.

As with any production in our grade 1 listed building, assessing risk and understanding the full intentions of a production and its impact on the venue is key. This requires consultation across multiple teams within our venue, from facilities and curators, to security and front of house. It’s always important to highlight any parts of the building, or the contents within, that might be particularly at risk of damage. For instance, The British Academy’s art collection, encompassing over 100 works, ranging from the 19th century up to the present day, can be found across the venue. To ensure our artwork is protected, we issue venue specific risk assessments before a production can shoot with us. These are very standard for locations housing historic artwork, and have never presented a problem for any of the production companies working with us.

A lot of the time it’s the simple things that make the most difference such as laying protective matting or using foam handrail guards! This is most important when a production constructs or builds something onsite– as the prep work for this can often be the messiest part of the job.

You can find further details on filming with {10-11} Carlton House Terrace here.