Where is Father Brown filmed? The BBC One drama locations explained

Detective period comedy drama featuring a savvy crime-fighting priest who solves mysteries in his sleepy village is back for its 10th series and fans are wondering where is Father Brown filmed?

Season 1 first aired back in 2013 and season 10 is airing now on BBC One, and for TV fans who love to check out where their favourite TV shows are set, like Where is Happy Valley Filmed (opens in new tab), or Everyone Else Burns (opens in new tab), and Dancing On Ice filming location (opens in new tab) might want to know where this detective drama is filmed.

Loosely based on the on the Father Brown short stories by G. K. Chesterton (opens in new tab) dating back to 1910 and 1936, the BBC 1 TV series features a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and keen understanding of human nature.

As we look at all you need to know about it's filming locations...

Where is Father Brown filmed?

Father Brown is filmed in and around the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire. The Church of St Peter and St Paul in the Gloucestershire village of Blockley, near Morton-in-Marsh, appears in the series as Father Brown’s home church of St Mary’s Roman Catholic church in Kembleford and the vicarage transformed into the presbytery for Father Brown's residence.

Other villages that have featured across the 10 seasons include; Winchcombe, Upper Slaughter, Kemerton and Guiting Power. Filming also took place at Winchcombe railway station and Toddington railway station on the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. 

Sudeley Castle was the main location for The Eye of Apollo. Princethorpe College, once a Catholic convent, now a secondary school, was used to film "St Agnes Convent" in Series One Episode 6.

The second series used locations including the Warwickshire village of Ilmington. Chastleton House and Berkeley Castle were used to portray Pryde Castle. Meanwhile, Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire provided the location for the final resting place of the famed rosary in the episode Mysteries of the Rosary.

While the gardens at Snowshill Manor featured in the same episode. The Time Machine episode, in series 3, was based around the Warwickshire estate of Alscot Park.

Filming has also taken place at Ashdown WW2 Camp, Evesham, Worcestershire. Also used were the 1930s portion of Shire Hall, Warwick, headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, Bloxham School in Oxfordshire and Worcester Guildhall. The former hospital at Moreton-in-Marsh was used for the new police station and for Father Brown's kitchen, study and presbytery.

Where is the fictional village of Kembleford?

The fictional village of Kembleford, where the series is set, is itself said to be located in the Cotswolds.

Where is the big house in Father Brown?

The big house in Father Brown is located at Broughton Castle, with filming particularly focused on the castle's gatehouse and stables. The building originates back to 1301, it was crenellated in 1406 and then rebuilt in 1550. It is the home of the Fiennes family, Barons Saye and Sele. 

Where is the model village in Father Brown filmed?

The model village in Father Brown is filmed at Bourton-on-the-Water's model village. It is a scale model village in the grounds of the Old New Inn in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England and is one of the first model villages in the country that was started in 1936 and completed in 1940.

It is the only grade II listed model village in the country. The River Windrush flows under Bourton's famous bridges providing a beautiful backdrop to the miniature beeches, cherries and chestnut trees.  

You can visit the model village and when you do be sure to listen out for the music in the tiny model church and can wander the lanes peering into all the different buildings. 

Tickets cost £3.50 children, £4.50 adults and £4.00 seniors and the village is open daily from 1 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2023 [except Christmas Day, 25th December] Open 10am to 6pm during British Summer Time; 10am to 4pm in Winter.

Father Brown airs on BBC One on Fridays at 1.45pm. Episode 4 airs this Friday 27th January and there are 10 episodes in season 10.

Related BBC Features:

• Is Winterwatch on tonight? When it's on and BBC presenters explained (opens in new tab)
• The Gold TV series: Cast and is it based on a true story? (opens in new tab)
• Sort Your Life Out Season 2: When is it on and where to watch it? (opens in new tab)
• Marie Antoinette (opens in new tab)
• Who left The Apprentice last night? (opens in new tab)

Video of the week