Shirburn Castle, Shirburn, Oxfordshire OX49 5BZ

Details

Accessibility

https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/shirburn-castle

Brief description

“Adjacent to the castle is All Saints' Church, which serves as the family mausoleum for the Earls of Macclesfield. The church contains notable monuments and is accessible via a path from the castle grounds. While the castle is not open to the public, its picturesque appearance has made it a popular location for film and television productions. The surrounding parkland, encompassing approximately 105 hectares, remains largely private and is not accessible to the public.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirburn_Castle

2025: "The castle sits within extensive grounds (Shirburn Park, itself Grade II listed), which is described in more detail at the relevant "Historic England" listing, with the brief description "Later C18 and early C19 garden and pleasure grounds around a late C14 castle, remodelled 1720s and early C19, set in a landscape park incorporating the remains of an early to mid C18 formal layout."[57] It incorporates a rotunda and a former orangery, the latter now derelict. Mowl and Earnshaw note that the development of the gardens was probably unfinished on account of Thomas Parker's well known downfall and financial troubles from 1725 onwards, and that further developments were likely undertaken by the second Earl in a classical style, forming a stylistic contrast with what they characterise as the neo-Medieval nature of the first Earl's renovated castle.[8]

On account of its "fairy tale" appearance, romantic setting, and near-original condition Georgian/Victorian interior, the castle has been used as a film location on a number of occasions, including external, and some internal shots as the Balcombe family home in the 1992 episode "Happy Families" of the Inspector Morse TV series,[58][59] internal rooms, the gatehouse entrance and the church as Midsomer Priory for a 2011 episode "A Sacred Trust" of the Midsomer Murders TV series[60] (although exterior shots of the "priory" house feature Greys Court, another Oxfordshire location), as well as an exterior shot of Mycroft Holmes's country estate for the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The location has also been used in 2 episodes of Poirot, namely "Third Girl" (2008) and "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case" (2013);[61][62] in Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995 TV movie),[63] Philomena (2013),[64] in the TV serial London Spy (2015)[65] and—with a certain amount of digital manipulation to remove post-medieval alterations—in The Old Guard (2020).[66][67] A 2016 Burberry commercial, "The Tale of Thomas Burberry" was also mainly filmed at Shirburn Castle.[68] In the 2011 Midsomer Murders Episode "A Sacred Trust", the coat of arms of the fictitious Vertue family, Lords of the Manor and as represented in the supposedly local pub "The Vertue Arms", is constructed almost identically to that of the (real) Parker family, Earls of Macclesfield and owners of the film location for the fictitious priory at Shirburn Castle.[69][70] The castle was also used in the seventh episode of the TV series The Gentlemen, "Not Without Danger" (2024), and in the sixth episode of the second season of SAS: Rogue Heroes."

Address

Shirburn Castle, Shirburn, Oxfordshire OX49 5BZ

Email

Phone

Website

https://handedon.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/shirburn-castle-oxfordshire/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirburn_Castle

https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/shirburn-castle

Directions

From London: Drive via the M40 motorway. Take Junction 6 (Lewknor), then follow signs to Shirburn along the B4009. Castle Road leads directly to the estate. The journey typically takes about 55 minutes, covering approximately 42 miles.

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

Transport

Amenities