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One of Kent's magnificent stately homes is to provide the stunning backdrop for a gripping new BBC series.
The 14th Century manor house at Penshurst Place features heavily in a new three-part dramatised documentary, The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family, due to air on BBC Two on Friday.
Social climbing, backstabbing and power games are all played out as the small screen story unfolds and the tale of how the iconic Boleyn family gained favour at the Tudor court is explored.
Filming at Penshurst Place took place over five days in February, with the interior of the magnificent historic house standing in for many of the locations featured in the series.
The medieval Baron’s Hall portrays the interior settings of locations including Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the Royal Court and the French Court.
Other parts of the estate featured include the Long Gallery, the Crypt and the Courtyard.
It's not the first time the location has been selected for period dramas, TV's Wolf Hall – based on the Hilary Mantel novels – was also filmed there, with actors Claire Foy and Mark Rylance playing central roles.
Nearby, Hever Castle was also used for some of the filming for the series.
Scenes filmed in the castle included in the inner hall, long gallery and King Henry VIII’s bedchamber.
Castle historian and assistant curator, Dr Owen Emmerson, said: "This ground-breaking new docudrama strips back many of the often told myths about the Boleyn family.
"Filmed on location at Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, it charts the extraordinary rise of the Boleyn family, and breathes new life into their often-told story. It liberates the patriarch of the family, Thomas Boleyn, from the unfounded trope of puppeteering his daughters into the King’s bed.
"By doing so, it allows us to recognise the agency of the Boleyn women and their remarkable abilities to carve out their own future."
"It was fascinating to see the house transformed into a series of different locations..."
Ben Thomas, general manager at Penshurst Place and Gardens, said: “We were thrilled to welcome the BBC production team and cast earlier this year.
"As always, it was fascinating to see the house transformed into a series of different locations for the shoot. We had particularly cold weather during filming and even had snow falling through the Baron’s Hall roof at one point, but everyone stayed in good spirits throughout the week.
“We’re very much looking forward to watching the docu-drama when it’s broadcast, and I’ll be looking out for a scene where characters performed a choreographed dance around the central fireplace in the Baron’s Hall. It looked fantastic when it was being filmed so I’m sure it will be mesmerising in the final cut!”
Penshurst Place was chosen as a key filming location for the series because of its extraordinary, preserved interiors and very real connections to the Tudor royal family.
Meanwhile in the programme, Hever Castle's inner hall was used as the Boleyn’s Great Chamber, in a dramatised scene set in an alcove, where Anne reads aloud the love letters from King Henry VIII that were sent to her at the castle.
A visually exciting scene is the dining hall laid out for a banquet as it would have been during Tudor times. The staircase gallery was used as Cardinal Wolsey’s residence and the long gallery as King Henry VIII’s Court.
Outside of the castle, the Tudor Garden and parts of the Italian Garden were used to represent other European destinations.
Two horses were also filmed on the drawbridge for the first time since 1969 when Oscar-winning film Anne of the Thousand Days was filmed at Hever Castle.
This year marks exactly 500 years from when King Henry VIII took possession of the Penshurst Place estate following the execution of the Duke of Buckingham. The Duke had a strong claim to the throne himself, so Henry resolved to have him tried for treason and beheaded in May 1521.
Penshurst Place then came into the possession of the Crown and was used by Henry VIII as a hunting lodge. It is believed that he stayed there while secretly courting Anne Boleyn prior to their marriage when she lived at Hever Castle.
The house and estate formed part of Henry’s divorce settlement from his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
Subsequently, King Edward VI gifted Penshurst Place to his tutor and steward of his household, Sir William Sidney; and the estate has remained in the hands of the Sidney family ever since.
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family airs 9pm on Friday, August 13 on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer
