Consider your weekend watch list officially updated, because The Thursday Murder Club just landed on Netflix. The film, based on Richard Osman's best-selling debut novel, follows a savvy group of pensioners who solve murder cases for fun from their retirement complex home.
The film is no doubt an exciting launch for the book's many fans, and with a star cast including Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kinglsey and David Tennant, it's already soared to the number one spot of Netflix's top releases.
Those that know the book will be aware that the story is set in a fictional retirement village called Coopers Chase, located in the quaint Kent seaside town of Fairhaven – created by Osman, of course. So since this very English story required a very English backdrop, where was The Thursday Murder Club actually filmed? Read on to find out all the filming locations we've spotted from the movie.
The Thursday Murder Club filming locations
The story's central location, Coopers Chase retirement home, was filmed at the grand Englefield House in Berkshire – which provided beautiful grounds and an Elizabethan-era library and dining room, as well as ample staircases and corridors to capture the gang's sleuthing. The movie's production designer James Merifield previously told Time Out: “Englefield was a slam dunk. It's got the scale, the gorgeous manicured gardens and a church adjacent to the house. All those ingredients just fit beautifully.”
The team also built a graveyard in the grounds of the stately home, crafting gravestones out of polystyrene for the film's protest scenes.
Englefield House is a private home and not open to the public, however the formal gardens are available to visit every Monday throughout the year, including Bank Holidays.
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The church and its grounds were also used extensively in the film, found adjacent to Englefield House.
The picturesque village of Albury provided the backdrop for another of The Thursday Murder Club's locations – the police station, the exterior of which was actually the pretty Tudor facade of the village hall.
The meeting between characters Ian Ventham (David Tennant) and Bogdan Jankowski (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) was filmed at The Red Lion pub in Little Missenden, which was actually the production designer's own local!
Another grand setting for the film was 18th-century country house, Gaddesden Place, near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. In particular, the beautiful arched conservatory and indoor pool was used for a scene in which Pierce Brosnan's character, Ron Ritchie, enjoys a spot of aqua aerobics.
Was your local ice rink just featured in one of Netflix's biggest movies of the year? Possibly. The film's arrest scene was filmed at the Slough Ice Arena, chosen for its proximity to London (as all locations were).
For the scenes that were set in London, sets were built at Netflix's new stages at Shepperton Studios, where the interior of the police station was also created. The foursome's individual apartments within the retirement village were also built at Shepperton Studios.
The Thursday Murder Club is available to watch on Netflix now.
