Tyntesfield

Summary

A Victorian Gothic Revival mansion in North Somerset, National Trust-owned since 2002, used for Sherlock (BBC), Doctor Who, and the 2017 Agatha Christie film Crooked House.

About this location

Tyntesfield is a Victorian Gothic Revival mansion near Nailsea in North Somerset, built from the 1860s for the Gibbs family, whose fortune came largely from guano trade with South America. The building is a dense composition of pointed gables, turrets, a prominent chapel wing, and covered walkways linking the main house to ancillary buildings. The National Trust acquired it in 2002 when it came onto the market; much of the original Victorian contents remained intact, making it unusual among period properties of its scale.

The house appeared as a film and television location in several notable productions. The BBC’s Sherlock used it for the Victorian-era special episode “The Abominable Bride” (2016), taking advantage of the intact period interiors and Gothic exterior. Doctor Who used it in the episode “Hide” (2013). The 2017 Agatha Christie adaptation Crooked House, starring Glenn Close and Terence Stamp, was partly filmed at Tyntesfield.

The property is managed by the National Trust and open to visitors seasonally. The ground floor state rooms — including the library and drawing rooms — have largely survived without post-Victorian modernisation, giving productions access to genuinely layered Victorian domestic interiors. The chapel interior, with its elaborate Gothic woodwork, is particularly distinctive. Access for large units requires coordination with the National Trust’s commercial filming service.