Great West Way Travel Magazine | Issue 06

Located on the river Thames and surrounded by swathes
of stunning gardens and parkland, Hampton Court Palace
may be best known for its Tudor and Stuart heritage – but in
Bridgerton, it stood in for St James’s Palace. Carriages swept
into the famous red brick courtyard for Queen Charlotte’s
Ball. “We were there for an afternoon,” says Bailey, who plays
Anthony.
Hampton Court Palace is one of Britain’s most famous
buildings and a must-visit destination on the Great West
Way. The former home of King Henry VIII, you can imagine
following in the footsteps of its stars with a stroll through
the palace’s 60 acres of gardens, including the ornate Privy
Garden, which was beloved by the King himself, or exploring
the beauty of Richmond Park - home to herds of red and
fallow deer since 1637.
Although Hampton Court Palace was used for exterior
shots of Queen Charlotte’s Palace, Lancaster House in
Westminster, London, was used for the interior and also
acted as a backdrop for scenes filmed inside Buckingham
Palace. With its sweeping staircases and Grand Hall, which
mirrors the style of the Palace of Versailles, the building is
a favourite filming location for period dramas and has also
appeared in Downton Abbey and The King’s Speech.
If in London you might choose to venture a short distance
from the route across Bushy Park into Teddington for
Normansfield Theatre in the Langdon Down Centre, where
Hastings and Anthony had their boxing match. Located
in the heart of Pall Mall and founded in 1832, The Reform
Club is another London filming location immortalised in
the series. The setting of episode one’s meeting between
the Duke of Hastings and Anthony Bridgerton, in reality the
private members' club is the haunt of some of Britain’s most
forward-thinking political minds, not to mention one of the
area’s most striking buildings.
In Twickenham you can visit the medieval St Mary’s Church
where early 18th century English poet, Alexander Pope
is buried, used for St George’s church where Daphne and
Hastings married. Although not featured in Bridgerton
36 GreatWestWay.co.uk