Penshurst Place's Baron's Hall Stars in New Sense and Sensibility Film

Penshurst Place has had its big-screen moment again. The Sevenoaks estate's medieval Baron's Hall was used as a filming location for the new adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, which opened in UK cinemas on 25 September.

Directed by Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean) from a screenplay by Diana Reid, the film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People, War of the Worlds) as Elinor Dashwood, Esmé Creed-Miles (The Sandman, Hanna) as Marianne Dashwood and Bodhi Rae Breathnach (Shelter, Hamnet) as Margaret Dashwood. The supporting cast includes Caitríona Balfe (Outlander) as Mrs Dashwood, Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead) as John Willoughby, Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person in the World) as Colonel Brandon, George MacKay (1917) as Edward Ferrars, and Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) as Mrs Jennings. It's produced by Kiddo Films, November Pictures and Working Title Films.

According to Kent Film Office, which tracks and supports filming across the county, filming took place in the Baron's Hall at Penshurst Place. The Hall is part of a 14th-century Manor House with preserved medieval interiors, set within eleven acres of Elizabethan walled gardens - and part of a house the Sidney family has lived in continuously since being granted it by Edward VI in 1552, as the current owner, Viscount De L'Isle, notes on the estate's own website.

Kent Film Office lists Renegade Nell (2024), The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (2024) and Mary Queen of Scots (2018) among the productions that have previously filmed at Penshurst Place - so the Baron's Hall is a working film set almost as often as it's a visitor attraction.

Penshurst Place & Gardens is open daily from 5 April to 2 November each year, so the Baron's Hall from the film is there to visit in person, not just on screen. Sources: Kent Film Office, Penshurst Place