Just when the wait for Bridgerton season 4 started to feel interminable, Channel 5 brought us The Forsytes. Naturally, we’re obsessed. And naturally, we’re all desperate to know The Forsytes filming locations that will transport us back in to the age of corsets and crinolines.
Based on John Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga, published between 1906 and 1922, the new six-part series is an epic, sprawling family tale that follows an upper-class family of stockbrokers, spanning across four generations. It’s a sumptuous, lavish new adaptation, filled with telenovela drama with a Bridgerton meets Downton Abbey meets Dallas meets The Gilded Age feel about it. Prepare for family feuds, domestic dramas, delectable costumes and, of course, breathtaking sets.
MASTERPIECE | PBS – James (Jack Davenport), Ann (Francesca Annis), Jolyon Snr (Stephen Moyer) and Young June (Billie Joyce) in The Forsytes. Photo: Sean Gleason© 2024 Mammoth Screen Limited / © 5 Broadcasting LimitedPress Enquiries: press@channel5.com NOTE: Channel 5 images are for the use of Press outlets only. Any blogs requesting access to these images are required to seek approval from Channel 5 directly. Contact press@channel5.comWhile we will continue to send out the weekly PI booklet every Friday, we have now launched the ViacomCBS Media Hub. This is an all-encompassing press centre where you can find the latest PI, press releases and other relevant information.All Paramount pictures must not me altered or manipulated in anyway.
Which brings us to the reason we’re all here: where was The Forsytes filmed? It’s the question that is bound to be top-of-mind after watching the show. And we’ve got you covered.
Where is The Forsytes set?
First thing’s first: where is the show actually set? The novels and the show are both set in 1880s London. Naturally, London looked rather different 140 years ago – needless to say, the skyline has changed. So, as with many London-set period dramas, production set up camp elsewhere.
MASTERPIECE | PBS – Jolyon (Danny Griffin) and Frances (Tuppence Middleton) in The Forsytes. Photo: Sean Gleason© 2024 Mammoth Screen Limited / © 5 Broadcasting LimitedPress Enquiries: press@channel5.com NOTE: Channel 5 images are for the use of Press outlets only. Any blogs requesting access to these images are required to seek approval from Channel 5 directly. Contact press@channel5.comWhile we will continue to send out the weekly PI booklet every Friday, we have now launched the ViacomCBS Media Hub. This is an all-encompassing press centre where you can find the latest PI, press releases and other relevant information.All Paramount pictures must not me altered or manipulated in anyway.
The Forsytes filming locations
Victorian London was recreated in Bristol for The Forsytes. Some filming also took place in Wales, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Venice.
Many of the interior shots were actually filmed in the Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol. Jolyon Forsyte’s Richmond Park house, Robin Hill, Soames Forsyte’s Knightsbridge house, the solicitors offices of Forsyte & Co, Louisa Byrne’s cottage and Philip Bosinney’s office were all studio sets.
For exterior shots, the cast and crew recreated 1880s Soho in Bristol, namely on All Saints Lane, Denmark Street, Hobbs Lane, Orchard Lane, Frog Lane, Frogmore Street and Tailor’s Court. Homes on Vyvyan Terrace and Christchurch Road were used for exterior shots of a few of the main characters’ residences.