One of the great courtyard houses of Tudor London, the Charterhouse was owned by businessman Thomas Sutton, dubbed “the wealthiest commoner in England.” Originally built as a priory on a Black Death burial ground, it was rebuilt in 1545 as a mansion that also housed a chapel, a school and an almshouse (which is still in occupation today). The mansion is now open to the public and contains a museum telling the story of the grounds’ history.

In Mary & George, the Charterhouse is used to represent the exteriors of the London Palace, as well as doubling as the London Meat Market, the King’s Banquet Hall and kitchen, and other interior locations.

George Villiers’ actual London Residence was York House on the Strand – a mansion house sitting on the Thames and situated close to the palace of Westminster. The house no longer exists, although elements such as the York Water Gate live on and several roads nearby are still named after the Duke. (He insisted on the roads being named after him on a condition of the mansion’s sale). In its place, scenes within George’s residence were filmed in Ham House in Richmond. It too sits on the bank of the Thames, although much further west than his actual dwelling. Built in the 17th century, it was the home of the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, and under their residence became one of the grandest houses of the Stuart era. Now a National Trust site, anyone can visit and enjoy wandering through its opulent chambers and landscaped gardens.

For interior scenes of James’ palace, May & George filmed within the impressive halls of Knole, in Kent. Built in 1456 by the Archbishops of Canterbury, it became a royal residence in the time of Henry VIII. Becoming the ancestral home of the Sackville family at the time of James I, Thomas Sackville (1st Earl of Dorset) filled the house with showrooms designed to parade his family’s wealth and status. The house is now owned by the National Trust and visitors can find art and letters that date back to the time Mary & George is set.

Situated in Hertfordshire, Hatfield House is more than a stone’s throw from King James’ London Palace – for which it was used in the filming of Mary & George. The house has a direct link to the time of the series, as it was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, the 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James. Representing the epitome of the Jacobean style, the house was used for scenes of cavorting, including a masque play, ballroom dancing and the King’s banquet.

Far from being the London pad as shown in the series, scenes of Mary’s residence were filmed at Crowhust House in rural Surrey. Originally a medieval hall house, it was purchased by designer George A. Crawley in the early 20th Century and redesigned in a Tudor Revival style. The house is today a private residence and was put up for sale as recently as 2020 – who wouldn’t want to own a house with its own moat and drawbridge?

Prior to the Union of the Crowns in 1603, King James reigned over Scotland as King James VI and remained King there even after he ascended to the throne of England. He only returned to Scotland once in the remainder of his life, and this is reflected in a scene in Mary & George set in Edinburgh. These were filmed on location at Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s oldest and most storied castles still standing and is where the infant King James was thrown a seriously lavish baptism party and subsequently spent his early years. Scenes of a great banquet and exterior shots acting as Edinburgh’s streets were shot at the castle, which is open to the public today.

Hidden behind the fully restored palace rooms at Stirling Castle is a private staircase which was inserted in the early 17th century, around the time James made his return to Scotland. The stairway links the King’s bedchamber downstairs to one of the ‘guest’ rooms upstairs, so it has long been a hypothesised that this stairway was built to ease access between the bedchambers of James and George Villiers.

For scenes set in the Privy Council Chamber and Coke’s legal chambers, Mary & George uses Hampden House in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. The interior of this Grade I listed country house, based in Princes Risborough, dates back to Elizabethan times, making it an era appropriate setting for Mary & George. The exterior however was rebuilt in the Gothic style in the 18th century, which made it a popular filming location for Hammer Horror films. The house was sold by the Hampden family (later Earls of Buckinghamshire) who had resided there from pre-Norman Britain to 1938, where they could no longer afford to maintain the now dilapidated manor. Hampden House was restored to its former glory, however, and is today used as a location for period projects such as Mary & George and as a popular wedding venue.