“Stonehouse” is a true-life British biographical comedy-drama tv series that follows a prominent but disgraced British Labor politician named John Stonehouse, who also served as Postmaster General in Harold Wilson’s government. With plans to fake his death and start a new life in a new country, John leaves a folded pile of clothes on the shore of the beach and swims against the waves.
A Sherlock-like stunt kicks off an investigation into John’s whereabouts, leading to many serious consequences. Real-life couple Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes portray the Stonehouse couple, John and Barbara, in the series. In addition, the use of different locations highlights the transition in John Stonehouse’s life, which is bound to raise questions about the actual filming locations of the series.
Where Was Stonehouse Series Filmed?
“Stonehouse” is being filmed in England and Spain, mainly in the West and East Midlands and Malaga. According to reports, principal photography for the debut season of the comedy-drama series began in early 2022 and ended in April of that year.
England
Most of “Stonehouse” is located in the West Midlands region, the official region covering the western half of the Midlands as the name suggests. The production team will be camping in Warwickshire to film many of the series’ vital scenes. Various Warwick Local Government Area locations serve as the show’s primary production locations.
These include Clarendon Square, Clarence Mansions at 5 Clarence Terrace in Warwick Street, and Jephson Gardens at Newbold Terrace, all in the spa town and civil parish of Leamington Spa. Additionally, several key sequences are filmed in the market town and civil parish of Stratford-upon-Avon.
In mid-March 2022, cast and crew members were spotted filming various key sequences in and around the historic Old Contemptibles pub at 176 Edmund Street in the city and metropolitan area of Birmingham. The Harborne area, located in southwest Birmingham, also features in the series, along with the disused Henley College Coventry on Henley Road in Coventry.
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Other parts of “Stonehouse” are also filmed in the East Midlands region, a region of England that covers the eastern half of the Midlands. While the production team ostensibly travels across different regions for filming, the city of Leicester serves as one of the series’ key filming locations.
Spain
Several of the show’s key scenes, including the beach scene where John leaves his clothes on the shore to fake his death, are set in Málaga, a Spanish municipality and the second most populous city in Andalusia, which is also true of Miami. In an interview with British Period Dramas, Matthew Macfadyen (John Stonehouse) described his and the crew’s experiences filming in Malaga.
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Matthew said, “…The water was very cold. Some of us were in wetsuits with camera equipment. Some of us were without, myself included. With a wig and sideburns. It was extremely cold. Luckily I’m a good swimmer. Like John Stonehouse. We had terrible weather in Spain. Terrible storms. On the last day of filming, the sky turned yellow with all the sand and dust from the Sahara desert.
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We shot there for a total of six days, and except for one of them, no one could go in the water because it was too dangerous. The waves were huge. Then we had one day of weak sun, so we went for it. And I think it works on screen.”
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