The filming of Downton Abbey - "A new era" at Belchamp Walter
If you have seen the movie and you are looking at this page then you have probably worked out that the opening sequence was filmed at Belchamp Walter.
The Church used for the opening sequence of the movie Downton Abbey "A New Era" is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Belchamp Walter
A slideshow can be found here
Downton 2 - A New Era has now been released. The opening sequence.
My prediction is that many will not be aware that the opening sequence was filmed at Belchamp Walter.
Belchamp Walter in the 20th Century - New era was supposed to be set in the 1920's
Background
Phyllis Logan - Mrs Hughes of Downton Abbey (Elsie Carson), was Lady Jane Felsham of Felsham Hall. Belchamp Hall was where it was filmed.
The concluding scene from the Downton Abbey movie (not the TV series) Mrs Hughes and Carson speculate on the future of the Crawley family. They conclude that they will be resident at The Abbey well into the future.
Filming location of the opening scene
A country house with a church within its grounds. The service at the church is a wedding?
The release date of Downton Abbey 2 was supposed to be the Christmas holiday season (Christmas 2021) but it was delayed until the spring of 2022. The movie is now available for purchase and rental. It has been aired in the Village Hall at Belchamp Walter on the Film Night of the 8th October 2022.
Julian Fellowes was the Creator, a screen writer and one of the producers of the first Downton Abbey film. His TV series, Gilded Age (produced for NBC television in the United States), was another for which he was creator, screen writer and producer.
Julian Fellowes was also creator of the TV series Belgravia along with Emmy Award winner Production Designer Donal Woods.
Wentworth Woodhouse
In a correspondence with a visitor to this website the mention that he would like to visit Wentworth Woodhouse as well as Blenheim, Burghley House, Chatsworth, Holkham Hall, Boughton and Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland. The contact was made in relation to Belchamp Hall.
A quote from a time.com article:
The Movie - Slideshow
June 2022. Having seen the movie these are a few observations.
The opening sequence shows an aerial view of the Hall and the Church. The drone footage takes the path to the windows in the West wall of the tower of St. Mary's.
There is no Rose Window
The Lower centre section of the Stained glass window, of John the Baptist, has been replaced with a rose window to give a focus for the camera to enter the Church.
Inside the Church the organ and the pulpit are quite nicely featured
St. Mary's has 8 bells, the soundtrack is of a peel of 6 bells.
The filming that the New Era team did in Harwich, Essex - of the Electric Palace was when Mary was taken to the "Movies" by the maker of the film at the Abbey only to discover that the "talkies" were the way of the future.