There was a moment during the filming of the new adaptation of Great Expectations when the weather turned and Brady Hood, one of the directors, ran for cover. He was on St John’s Hill, a residential street in Shrewsbury and the nearest shelter was the doorway of one of the Georgian homes that line it. He was hit with surprise, then panic, when the front door was pulled open behind him. “I jumped and thought, ‘Oh no, I’m in for it here,’” he says. “But the lady smiled and simply asked if I wanted to come inside.”
Hood is telling me this story because it sums up his experience of filming in the town. “My standout memory was of the people. A film unit can be disruptive, but every single person I encountered was lovely and amenable – it made my job so much easier.”
Almost as soon as I arrived in Shrewsbury, I could see the appeal. The market town, which sits in a horseshoe of the River Severn, is a beauty. As I walked through its cobbled passageways, along its remarkable streets and past its wonky, timber-frame buildings, I understood why it was chosen as a stand-in for 19th-century London in the new BBC version of the Charles Dickens classic. When the programme’s location manager, Leon Seth, first came to scout out the town, he didn’t expect such a fitting backdrop.
“Leon had never been to Shrewsbury before, so I spent a whole eight hours showing him around,” says Mark Hooper, founder of agency Film Shropshire. “At the end of the day, he had this big list of places he still had to look at – Oxford, Cambridge, that sort of thing – he glanced at this list and said, ‘Do you know what, if it’s not here, I’m not doing the job.’”
Seth is one of many to have found inspiration in Shrewsbury. Charles Darwin grew up in the town and returned many times over the course of his adult life; John Weaver, who is considered the father of English ballet, worked on the dance form in Shrewsbury; E M Forster refers to it as “astonishing” in Howards End. Then there’s Dickens himself.
The author is known to have visited Shrewsbury at least three times, staying in The Lion Hotel, a Grade I-listed, 16th-century coaching inn. Two of his characters are educated in Shrewsbury School in A Tale of Two Cities. And this is not the first time the town has been used as a location for Dickens adaptions: in 1984, it was the backdrop for A Christmas Carol.
The shoot for Great Expectations, which was adapted by Steven Knight (creator of Peaky Blinders), took place in May last year across three locations. St John’s Hill became a busy city scene, complete with horses and carriages; the tranquil mews of Council House Court was styled as an opium den; and St Mary’s Water Lane, a steep avenue leading down to the river, was covered in fish guts and transformed into Market Street, where Pip’s lodgings were based.
Shrewsbury’s residents enjoyed the process. Local Rachael Chidlow, who runs the Lion + Pheasant hotel (which hosted some of the crew), said: “At first, it was all veiled in secrecy, so the anticipation and curiosity kept growing. When we found out it was Great Expectations, everyone around felt humbled and excited.”
“Rumours were flying around constantly,” says Hooper. There were multiple reported sightings of Olivia Colman – even though, while playing Miss Havisham, she was confined to her ruined mansion that was built in a studio, and never set foot in Shrewsbury. Tom Hardy, an executive producer, did visit, but stayed away from the crowds that gathered, as “Tom stop here” signs popped up in shop and café windows.
Indeed, he would have been spoilt for choice: Shrewsbury is packed with interesting places to eat, drink and browse. The street of Wyle Cop has the UK’s longest uninterrupted stretch of independent shops, while the lively Shrewsbury Market Hall was voted the UK’s favourite this year – the second time it triumphed in the annual Great British Market Awards. Among its highlights is Thai café The House of Yum, which serves a particularly tasty monkfish panang.
On Milk Street, Csons offers Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes made from locally sourced ingredients (the Lemon Yum is a highlight for pudding).
The food scene is thriving, but the town nurtures other attractions – from themed trails (Shrewsbury Arts Trail runs July–August and Shrewsbeer tours launch on 30 April) to a clutch of festivals, including wellness, folk, flower, comedy and cocktail, as well as food. History always complements creativity in Shrewsbury.
A three-minute walk from Csons, in Church Street, is The Loggerheads. I stop for a drink in the pub, which dates to the 18th century and still has a (now-irrelevant) “gentlemen only” sign hanging on the wall.
“Wandering through the town is like being thrown through time,” Hood says. “I didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy it as much as I had hoped. But I will certainly be returning.”
It sounds as if he won’t be the only filmmaker admiring Shrewsbury’s streets. According to Hooper, two more big productions “on a par with Great Expectations” are on the horizon, though he is not permitted to share any details. “Since setting up Film Shropshire 12 months ago, we have been inundated with interest – almost more than we can cope with,” he adds. “But I’m so glad more people are discovering its allure.”
Travel Essentials
How to get there
West Midlands Railway runs rail services from Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury. Its sister company London Northwestern Railway operates services to Birmingham from London and Liverpool.
Where to stay
Lion + Pheasant Hotel is a cosy timber-framed townhouse and B&B with a delicious breakfast. Doubles from £120.
Where to eat
Ernest & Co for tapas and small plates by the fire; House of Yum for Thai (shrewsburymarkethall.co.uk); Csons for a fusion of cuisines.
Further information
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