10 famous movies filmed in Lincolnshire you can watch now

Lincolnshire has provided the setting for in at least 10 famous films.

Locations in the county have ranged included Lincoln Cathedral, and Burghley House close to Stamford, and Cadwell Park near Louth.

The Lincolnite has compiled a list of the biggest films to feature our beloved county.

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Peterloo (2018)

Peterloo is a real-life story based on the killing of 15 people and injury of hundreds more after calvary charged at over 60,000 protestors.

The film directed by Mike Leigh is set in 1819, with Lincoln’s Steep Hill and Cathedral Quarter making a perfect setting for the historic film.

The Bailgate area was filled with a cast of more than 100 actors, historic props and film crews. Gainsborough Old Hall was also used as a location by the production crew.

Stars included Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley, David Moorst, Rachel Finnegan, Tom Meredith and Simona Bitmate. 

Watch Peterloo on All 4 free or on Amazon Prime.

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The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Lincoln’s iconic cathedral was used during the filming of the blockbuster movie The Da Vinci Code, which starred big names including Tom Hanks and Sir Ian McKellen.

Hanks plays Robert Langdon, who is trying to solve the murder of a member of an ancient society that has protected dark secrets for centuries. It is based on the book of the same name by Dan Brown.

Hanks, McKellen and Audrey Tautou all stayed in Lincoln during the shoot, but Lincoln Cathedral was used to pose as a different location – Westminster Abbey. This was due to the originally desired filming location being refused on religious grounds.

A Roman Catholic nun staged a protest over the filming at Lincoln Cathedral. Sister Mary Michael knelt in prayer outside the building for 12 hours to object to the production of the film. She believed the film contains heresy.

Lincoln Cathedral reportedly gained £100,000 for its use over five days for filming and later auctioned the props.

Burghley House in Lincolnshire also featured as Castel Gandolfo/garages at Chateau Villette/Saunieres country-side retreat.

The Da Vinci Code is free to stream with Amazon Prime Video subscriptions.

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Pride & Prejudice (2005)

The Lincolnshire town of Stamford was used during the filming of romantic drama film Pride and Prejudice, which stars Keira Knightly in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet.

The film is based on Jane Austen’s 1813 novel of the same name. The film features five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions.

Burghley House near Stamford stood in for Rosings. The town of Stamford represented the fictional village of Meryton.

The first dance scenes were shot on a set in a potato warehouse in Lincolnshire, with the employment of local townspeople as extras.

Pride & Prejudice is available to stream on Netflix.

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The Young Victoria (2009)

Filming in Germany and Eastern Europe had initially been considered, but it was decided that The Young Victoria needed to be filmed in its native country for authenticity.

The film portrays the early childhood, teen and the following turbulent years of a young princess who came to be known as Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria is played by Emily Blunt, with big stars Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson and Paul Bettany also among the cast.

Scenes set at Westminster Abbey were filmed at Lincoln Cathedral in September and October 2007. Belvoir Castle in Grantham was also among the filming locations.

Our very own reporter Joseph Verney was also an extra in the film!

The Young Victoria is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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The Dam Busters (1955)

The Dam Busters is a British epic war film recreating the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF’s 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bomb.

The film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave was based on the books The Dam Busters (1951) by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead (1946) by Guy Gibson.

The scene where the Dutch coast is crossed was filmed between Boston in Lincolnshire and King’s Lynn in Norfolk, and other coastal scenes near Skegness.

RAF Scampton was used for some scenes, but the principal airfield used for ground location shooting was at RAF Hemswell, where Gibson had been based. Serving RAF pilots from both squadrons based at Hemswell took turns flying the Lancasters during filming.

You can rent The Dam Busters on Amazon Prime Video from £2.49.

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The King (2019)

Lincoln Cathedral briefly stars in the Netflix original film The King starring Timothée Chalamet.

Timothée Chalamet plays Prince Hal, a wild young prince who would later become the legendary monarch King Henry V.

The King follows the young prince from his early days through to his coronation and then later when he invaded France after negotiations failed.

The historic quarter of Lincoln was transformed into a film set ready for Henry V’s movie coronation.

Despite days of filming in such a beautiful location, Lincoln only appears in the film for about a minute in total.

Henry V (Timothée Chalamet) was crowned in 1413 at Westminster Abbey, but Lincoln Cathedral was used as a double for the Abbey.

As well as in the coronation, Lincoln Cathedral also make a brief appearance when Henry V negotiates with King Charles VI of France.

You can stream The King on Netflix.

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Rush (2013)

Cadwell Park near Louth featured in the biographical sports film Rush.

The film is centred on the rivalry between two Formula One drivers, Brit James Hunt played by Chris Hemsworth, and Daniel Brühl as Austrian Niki Lauda, during the 1976 season.

The film directed by Ron Howard and written by Peter Morgan was shot on location in the UK, Germany and Austria. Both vintage racing cars and replicas were used at various filming locations.

A number of scenes were filmed at Cadwell Park, a motor racing circuit near Louth.

Cadwell Park substituted for Crystal Palace where the two drivers compete together for the first time.

The circuit also provides the backdrop for F3 race footage in a key scene in the movie.

Jon Rush, Circuit Manager for Cadwell Park said: “That Ron Howard and his team were able to use Cadwell Park to create a thrilling sequence in the movie is very exciting for everyone here. We’re proud to have played a part in a landmark film for the sport.”

Rush is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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Atonement (2007)

Grimsby and Gedney Drove End, Spalding featured in the romantic war drama film Atonement.

Atonement is based on Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel of the same name and chronicles a crime and its consequences over the course of six decades, beginning in the 1930s.

The film’s stars include James McAvoy, Keira Knightley and Vanessa Redgrave.

Dunkirk street scenes were shot at the Grimsby ice factory on Grimsby Docks.

War scenes (in the French countryside) were filmed in areas including Gedney Drove End in Lincolnshire.

You can rent Atonement on Amazon Prime Video from £2.49.

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The Wild and the Willing (1962)

Lincoln featured in the British romantic drama film The Wild and the Willing.

The film depicts a group of young men at university who enjoy the student life of dancing, drinking and meeting girls.

It was filmed on location in Lincoln, with Lincoln Castle doubling as the university.

The film is directed by Ralph Thomas and is based on a play called ‘The Tinker’.

It was also the film debut for Ian McShane, John Hurt and Samantha Eggar.

You can rent The Wild and the Willing on BFI Player for £2.50.

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This is England (2006)

Boston, Grimsby and Cleethorpes featured in the British drama film This is England.

The film is about Shaun Fields, who is played by Grimsby actor Thomas Turgoose. Fields, who lost his father in the Falklands War, earns the respect of skinheads when he stands up to their teasing and becomes part of the gang.

Turgoose also reprised the role in the This is England TV series – This is England ’86 (2010), This is England ’88 (2011) and This is England ’90 (2015).

Although much of the film was shot in residential areas of Nottingham, various locations in Lincolnshire were also used.

The Jolly Sailor Inn in Stickney, Boston, was used for a white nationalist meeting and Grimsby Docks also featured in the film. Cleethorpes also features and is reported as being in the closing credits.

You can rent This is England on Amazon Prime Video from £0.99.

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Added bonus…

Meanwhile, an adaptation of A.S. Byatt’s 1990 award-winning novel of the same name, Possession, featured Lincoln.

The 1990 book was set in a then-fictitious Lincoln University, but when filmmakers decided to finally adapt the book for the big screen in 2002, it was a pleasant surprise to find the University of Lincoln was now very real.

The fictional story of literary scholars features American Roland Michell, played by Aaron Eckhart, and Gwyneth Paltrow starring as British Maud Bailey.

An article in The Independent revealed that, at the time, when the relatively-new university was asked if filming could take place on campus, there was little hesitation.

You can rent Possession on Amazon Prime Video for £3.49.