September // 2026

Where was the 2026 version of Sense and Sensibility filmed? From Knebworth House and Broughton Castle to West Wycombe Park

Sense and Sensibility

The last major theatrical adaptation was Ang Lee's 1995 film – Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, seven Oscar nominations. Thirty-one years later, Georgia Oakley has brought Austen back to the big screen. And she went to Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, Hertfordshire, Wiltshire, Kent, Buckinghamshire and London to do it.

"I was really trying to get into what it might have felt like to live in Devon 200 years ago," Oakley told Visit Devon. "Steering away from this preconceived idea that everything takes place in a stuffy drawing room." Fiona Shaw, who plays Mrs. Jennings, was candid about the practical reality: "I don't think I've ever been in a carriage with four horses. Although the truth of swanning about in posh houses is that you're 13 hours in a corset and wigs."

The desire, according to supervising location manager Ian Hutchinson, was to "keep it as true to the book as possible" in terms of where it was shot. After considering 40 to 50 houses for various roles, the location team – Hutchinson alongside Pauly McCluskey, Hugo Nicholson, Eddy Pearce and Sammy Thomson – assembled one of the most geographically ambitious location rosters in recent British period drama.

Directed by Georgia Oakley, written by Diana Reid, produced by Working Title Films. Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Elinor. Esmé Creed-Miles plays Marianne. Caitríona Balfe is Mrs. Dashwood. Frank Dillane is Willoughby. Herbert Nordrum is Colonel Brandon. George MacKay is Edward Ferrars.

Screenshot Sense and Sensibility Kingston Russel House Credit Focus Features
Kingston Russell House, Broughton Castle, Knebworth House and Dartmoor

Hutchinson's favourite location while making the film was Kingston Russell House in Dorset – used for Norland Park, the Dashwood family home at the start of the film. After considering mulitple locations, Kingston Russell was chosen – a house that has not appeared on screen before. 

Standing in as the Dashwood family's original estate – the one they are forced to leave after the death of their father – Knebworth House in Hertfordshire was used primarily for interiors and some shots of the grounds. Filming took place here in July 2025. The house's accurately preserved historic interiors have made it a natural choice for period drama: The King's Speech, The Crown and Nanny McPhee have all used it. For the exterior of the same estate, Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire was selected – the moated medieval manor house that has appeared in Shakespeare in Love and Mary & George. On screen, the two locations read as one seamless house.

Austen set the novel in Devon, and Oakley took that seriously. Specific filming took place around Dartmoor National Park – near Princetown, Tavistock and Gutter Tor – with local papers including the Totnes Times spotting the cast and crew on the wild landscapes. The derelict Ditsworthy Warren Farm on Dartmoor was selected to become Barton Cottage, but needed significant preparation. The team added period-appropriate windows and a door, patched up the roof, removed rubble from outside and added planting – a temporary renovation that took around 10 days. Ditsworthy Warren Farm also appeared in the 2011 adaptation of War Horse.

Filming took place in parts of Batcombe and Hilfield in Dorset – areas that offer sweeping rural landscapes and plenty of natural light, their countryside character extending the film's West Country geography beyond Devon.

Continue reading below the ad

Turn your city trip to London into a movie adventure
Penshurst Place, West Wycombe Park and Wilton House

The film's lively country dance sequence was filmed at Penshurst Place, just outside Tunbridge Wells – the magnificent 14th-century estate whose Baron's Hall was transformed into the setting for the Hop. Around 140 supporting artists, eight dogs and a crew of 150 descended on Penshurst to bring the scene to life.

The trailer's ball sequence – including the encounter between Elinor and Edward – was filmed at West Wycombe Park, the country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe. The entrance hall, where the ball was filmed, resembles a Roman atrium with marbled columns and a painted ceiling. West Wycombe was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine Sir Francis Dashwood – an appropriate choice for the film's most social scenes. The house has appeared in Victoria & Abdul, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Crown.

Wilton House in Wiltshire is believed to have been used for several of the film's grander interiors. Its magnificently preserved rooms have featured in Bridgerton, Emma, The Crown and Young Victoria – making it one of the most reliably used period drama interiors in England.

London

London contributed several specific confirmed locations. The exterior of Mrs Jennings' London house was shot at Lincoln's Inn Fields – dressed with period props, horses and carriages, and stripped of modern intrusions: electrical cables and road markings temporarily removed or hidden. Street scenes were also shot on Horse Guards Parade and adjacent King Charles Street in Whitehall. Elinor and Edward share a moment at the National Gallery, which stands in for the Royal Academy of Arts.

The interiors of Mrs Jennings' London house were filmed at Rainham Hall in Rainham – the 18th-century National Trust property transformed into the London home where Elinor and Marianne enter society.

Sense and Sensibility opens in cinemas on September 25, 2026, distributed by Focus Features.

Screenshot Sense and Sensibility 2026 Knebworth House Credit FOcus Features

SOURCE

Muddy Stilettos // Discover Brittain // House and Garden // Focus Features // Visit Devon

CREDITS

© Focus Features

Step into the movies!

with our self-guided film walking tours

Discover how films are made, why locations matter and other behind-the-scenes stories.

download now, it's free!

The popin will be visible only one time per visit. Please note: this block will be invisible in preview and live.

CONNECT A PAGE TO THIS BUTTON