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Are there any female figures more quintessentially English than Jane Austen, Emma Thompson, and Kate Winslet? There are a few others as well, but that’s a good start. And the Sense and Sensibility filming locations in this adaptation of the Austen classic also scream “tea and scones on the lawn.”
Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995) is perhaps the most well-known on-screen version of the famous novel. Elinor (Thompson) and Marianne (Winslet), their younger sister and mother (Gemma Jones) face financial ruin as they can’t inherit their father’s estate when he passes away. Their only hopes are to marry. But Marianne’s potential suitors, John Willoughby (Greg Wise AKA Mrs Emma Thompson) and Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) aren’t perfect. And the hunk that Elinor hopes to wed, Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) is already engaged.
The Dashwood girls may have messy love lives, but the Sense and Sensibility locations are anything but. The locations, predictably but reassuringly, mostly consist of gorgeous country estates in Devon.
So, where are the Sense and Sensibility (1995) locations in England? Let’s find out with the help of my handy Sense and Sensibility map!
Where Was Sense and Sensibility Filmed?
Sense and Sensibility Filming Locations in England
1. Saltram House, Plymouth, Devon
The first Sense and Sensibility filming location is not one we see on screen for very long. While he’s on his deathbed, the senior Mr Dashwood makes his son John promise to take care of his second wife and their three daughters. Because women cannot inherit, Mr Dashwood’s money and property, Norland Park, goes to him.
Saltram House in Plymouth stands in as this estate. You can see more of the Georgian mansion when John and Fanny rock up from London to claim it. It’s a National Trust property (in fact, most of the stately homes on this list of Sense and Sensibility film locations are!) so you can easily visit it for yourself.
2. Adam House, 7-10 Adam Street, London
Before inheriting Norland Park, John and his wife Fanny Dashwood live in a swanky monochrome London townhouse. In reality, it’s called Adam House in London and is a private members club, office, and events space with a restaurant.
We see the house again later in the film when the young Lucy Steele stays with the Dashwoods.
3. Old Royal Naval College, London
One of the most prolific London filming locations, the Old Royal Naval College in London (specifically, the College Way street) has featured in so many movies. In Sense and Sensibility, John and Fanny ride down the street in their horse and cart. All the while, Fanny attempts to manipulate John into giving his step-mother and sisters almost no allowance.
Just some of the other films that the Old Royal Naval College appears in are Thor: The Dark World (2013), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Duchess (2008) and The King’s Speech (2010).
Read next: The Duchess Filming Locations in England
4. Efford Cottage, Plymouth, Devon
Mrs Dashwood’s cousin Sir John Middleton has come through with a cottage for the four ladies. So, they hop in their horse and cart and arrive at a rather neglected Barton Cottage complete with an overgrown garden. It’s called Efford House and it is now one of the holiday cottages on The Flete Estate in Plymouth.
It sleeps 12 and is dog friendly! Though the interior is now slightly more modern and homely than the early 1800s decor in Sense and Sensibility, the cottage still has a wood-burning fire and view of the coastline.
5. Trafalgar Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Sir John Middleton is overjoyed to have his cousin and her daughters living on his estate. Of course, he lives in the much grander Barton Park with his mother-in-law. We first see his estate when the family converse about their friend Colonel Brandon. Trafalgar Park in Salisbury stands in as the real-life location for Barton Park. It’s an 18th-century manor house that is sometimes used as an events space.
Trafalgar Park also appears in 28 Days Later (2002).
Read next: 28 Days Later Film Locations in England
6. Blickling Estate, Norwich
Despite losing Marianne’s affections to one John Willoughby, Colonel Brandon invites the Dashwords, the Palmers, Mrs Jennings and Mr Middleton over for a picnic on the lawn of his sprawling estate. He’s set to inherit Delaford, which in reality is the Blickling Estate in Norwich. It’s also a National Trust property so you can visit it in person.
7. Mompesson House, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Mrs Jennings takes Elinor, Marianne, and a family friend Lucy Steele to London for a short trip. They stay in her Chelsea home which is nowhere near Chelsea in real life. In fact, it’s not even in London. The exterior and the entrance hall to her home is Mompesson House in Salisbury. It sits on a very historic street called Cathedral Close, which is all run by the National Trust.
8. Mothecombe Garden Cottage, Plymouth, Devon
The drawing room of Mrs Jennings’s London home is in Mothecombe House back in Devon. It’s another grand holiday cottage on The Flete Estate but this one only sleeps six and doesn’t allow dogs. Shame.
9. Queen’s House, National Maritime Museum, London
The whole gang, including Fanny and John Dashwood, take a walk through bustling central London. Mrs Jennings lets on that she knows Elinor holds a torch for Edward Ferrars, which is the man Lucy is engaged to. The Sense and Sensibility location that stands in for central London is a colonnade walkway next to the Queen’s House in the National Maritime Museum.
10. Somerset House, London
The four ladies head out to a grand London ball, as was surely the law back in the early 1800s. You can’t go to London without attending some kind of ball, you know. The exterior for the ball’s setting (which is some unknown London townhouse) is Somerset House. It’s a huge palace that is now a multidiscipline events venue.
11. Wilton House, Salisbury, Wiltshire
But director Ang Lee shot the interior Sense and Sensibility filming locations for the ballroom scene in an entirely different county. Wilton House in Salisbury, with its impressive art collection, stands in for those.
You can also spy the interiors of Wilton House in another great Jane Austen adaptation, Pride & Prejudice (2005).
Read next: Pride & Prejudice Filming Locations in England
12. Montacute House, Somerset
The young Dashwood girls travel back to Devon from London with the Palmers (Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie). They stop at the Palmers’ home for a night, called Cleveland House, as it’s on their way. The Sense and Sensibility film location is yet another gorgeous stately home called Montacute House in Somerset. It dates back to Elizabethan times and is, no surprise, another National Trust property with acres of beautifully manicured gardens.
13. Compton Castle, Devon
Heartbroken and desperate, Marianne watches over John Willoughby’s Combe Magna estate in the rain from a hill on the Palmers’ estate because they’re only 5.5 miles apart. The medieval, fortified Devon property called Compton Castle stood in for this location.
It’s definitely not the most welcoming of stately homes! Looks like somewhere Dracula or Frankenstein might hang out if they had a National Trust membership, of course.
14. Wonwell Beach, Erme Mouth, Devon
I’m not 100% certain of this Sense and Sensibility filming location, but I thought it better to leave it in just in case. After Marianne recovers from her infectious disease, she and Elinor go for a stroll in the hills near their house. I believe they are walking just above Wonwell Beach in Devon not far from their cottage location, but it could be a different stretch of coastline.
15. St Mary’s Church, Berry Pomeroy
All’s well that ends well! Free from his engagement to Lucy Steele, Edward Ferrars proposes to Elinor and the Colonel marries Marianne. They wed in St Mary’s Church in a small town called Berry Pomeroy in Devon.
16. Chandos House, 2 Queen Anne Square, London
This is a random Sense and Sensibility film location I’m throwing in at the end of this post only because my research tells me it exists. Chandos House in London is the Palmers’ city townhouse, apparently. But where on earth does it appear in the film?! If you know, feel free to enlighten me.
And those are all the top Sense and Sensibility filming locations in England! Have you watched the film or visited any of the locations? Let me know in the comments below!
Read next: The King’s Speech Filming Locations in England
