CALL The Midwife fans are rejoicing in the fact that with series 10 set to air this week, series 11 has already been confirmed.
Depicting the trials and tribulations of a group of midwives in the poor East End of London in the ’50s, showmakers have endeavoured to keep things as real as possible by filming on location in the capital. Here’s everything you need to know about where they film…
Is Call The Midwife actually filmed in East London?
Fans of the show will know all too well that it is set in Poplar, which was a desperately poor and deprived part of the capital at the time the show is set.
While the show’s bosses have tried to keep the unique period of ’50s London in the show, they have been forced to look outside of the ever-changing and increasingly modern East End.
Locations from the past five series include North and Central London, Kent, and Surrey.
London’s notorious property market hasn’t made things easy.
In 2013, Call The Midwife bosses were forced to hastily relocate to another set when the North London location they used for Nonnatus House was transformed into multi-million pound flats.
Why is a dockyard in Kent the show’s most recognisable location?
The Historical Dockyard at Chatham, Kent has been used to film outdoor scenes in the show thanks to its 100 Georgian and Victorian building.
The location features a number of impressive buildings, which are similar to what would have existed in Poplar at the time.
The dockyards themselves and many other buildings and cobbled lanes in the 100 acre compound give the feel of old London.
From series one the cast and crew have decamped to Kent to shoot scenes. It just so happens that fans can get in on the action too as the Dockyard is open to the public.
Does Call The Midwife film in London?
The hit drama still continues to film in the capital to this day – though it only currently uses on location.
The team use a small area around Theed Street in Waterloo, close to the Old and Young Vic theatres to film exterior shots of terrace homes that open directly onto a street.
Prior to its sale, which saw it converted into swanky flats and homes, St. Joseph’s Missionary College in Mill Hill, North London was used as the setting for Nonnatus House.
The sale of building, built by Father Herbert Vaughan in 1866 as Britain’s first Catholic missionary college, saw the cast and crew scurry to find a new location to film from from 2013 onward.
Are there any other locations the show films at?
Following the sale of the College in North London the show relocated the setting of Nonnatus House to Surrey, where they also have a number of interior sets to shoot on.
Manor House at Long Cross Film Studios has been home to the midwives and their beloved Nonnatus House since 2013.
The house was built in 1853 and after purchase by the Ministry of Supply in 1952 it was used as an Officers Mess. In 2004 it was purchased by a consortium headed by Crest Nicholson PLC.
Features include a stone porch with columns and grand staircase, while inside a perfect period statement is made by the central staircase.
