Written by Shona Smith on Apr 30, 2019. Posted in General Interest / On Location

Screen Suffolk sign entire village as a filming location

Kelsale cum Carlton has become the first complete village to sign up as a filming location with Screen Suffolk. Having been on the database for a short period, the village has already been put forward for several film shoots by the film office.

Rachel Aldridge, film officer at Screen Suffolk said “it’s absolutely fantastic to have Kelsale on our books because it’s a really unique village with amazing historical buildings”. The village’s offering comprises of playing fields, a period village hall, a 12-14^th century Church as well as numerous period residential properties.

Location scouts may be particularly interested in the number of original buildings that remain untouched. Church warden Elizabeth Masterton-Smith noted that “the village is actually very unspoilt” with few exteriors having undergone drastic alteration. The historic church also has a rare listed Lynch Gate, one of only four left in the UK (pictured).

Screen Suffolk was approached by the residents of the village, who saw the financial opportunity that comes with providing locations as a way to support upkeep and restoration work that heritage buildings require. Aldridge notes that “Everyone I have spoken to is completely on board with filming, and realises the potential to keep them going and keep them in the community” adding that “It’s lovely to have the support of the whole village”.

Kelsale cum Carlton joins over four hundred locations available to filmmakers through Screen Suffolk, but having so many locations in one place is unique for the film office. The village has already seen interest from a number of period productions and the film office is keen to sign other villages to their location pool.

Located to the Northeast of London, Screen Suffolk has facilitated over 340 filming days in the county since opening in 2016. Productions to have shot there include an untiltled Richard Curtis/Danny Boyle film and Netflix's The Crown.