With a range of interior and exterior backdrops, there is also a unit base with 200 parking spaces and on-site accommodation for more than 40 people.

Addington Palace is a five-storey, Grade II* listed Palladian-style mansion, set in more than 160 acres of countryside and 12 miles from central London.

We spoke to Sean Power – sales manager and son of the owner – about all that is on offer for filmmakers and location managers at the family-run venue, including accommodation for cast and crews and unit base facilities.

When was the building first opened up to filming?

Addington Palace has been a prime filming location for around 25 years. Over this time, we’ve gained extensive experience in the filming industry, ensuring that production crews enjoy a seamless and professional experience.

Our team is committed to making every shoot as smooth as possible, allowing filmmakers to focus on their content. Whether you’re planning a small production or seeking exclusive estate hire, we offer flexibility and expertise.

Can you tell us about some productions that have filmed there?

We’ve hosted numerous high-profile productions at Addington Palace, each bringing its own scale and flair.

War Machine, Netflix
In 2015, Addington Palace was the chosen backdrop for Netflix’s War Machine, starring Brad Pitt and Ben Kingsley. Filmed over two weeks, the production utilised several of our most iconic rooms.






• The Great Hall: Glen McMahon (Brad Pitt) in discussions with U.S. diplomats
• Dining Room: This was transformed into President Karzai’s office, where McMahon meets with Karzai (Ben Kingsley)
• Music Room: Set as Karzai’s bedroom for pivotal scenes

Johnny English Strikes Again
Addington Palace also served as a luxurious setting for Johnny English Strikes Again, starring Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson, and Olga Kurylenko. This third instalment of the Johnny English series made full use of the palace’s opulent interiors:

• The Great Hall: Central Intelligence Hub scenes with Johnny English
• Morning Room: A meeting room with the Prime Minister (Emma Thompson)
• Grand Staircase: Featured in multiple pivotal shots

Tequila Herederos – Salma Hayek’s commercial
In a unique twist, Addington Palace was the setting for Salma Hayek’s Tequila Herederos commercials, which were later revealed as promotional material for her Netflix series, Monarca. The campaign, steeped in tradition and betrayal, showcased our palace as the perfect backdrop for its dramatic narrative.

Recent filming highlights
Our venue has also hosted a variety of TV commercials and other projects, including:

• Nationwide commercial, starring Dominic West as a bank manager on a golf course
• Only Natural Diamonds campaign, featuring Lily James in a stunning diamond-themed shoot
• Sainsbury’s Christmas commercial, a medieval-themed ad with Alison Hammond as a picky countess
• Rise and Fall, an advert for a TV show
• Strictly Come Dancing, an advert for one of the season releases
• Music videos, featuring talents like Joy Crookes and Ray

Can Addington Palace double for other backdrops?

We can adapt the venue to fit a wide range of settings, from grandiose period pieces to more modern, flexible designs. Our varied rooms and floors, including abandoned areas ideal for set builds, allow for a creative approach to any production.

How much notice is needed for parts of the palace to be closed off for filming?

We pride ourselves on our flexibility. While we welcome last-minute inquiries, as long as the space is available, we’re ready to accommodate your shoot without extensive lead time. Generally there is great availability.

What facilities are on offer to filmmakers and unit bases?

• The palace has accommodation available for cast and crew as well. Addington Palace accommodation (for up to 42 people) is a stone’s throw away from the building, available for multiple day bookings by directors, crew and talent, especially useful if they are coming from abroad as it is a 25-minute car journey from Gatwick Airport

• There are large outdoor grounds and five different floors within the palace. The first floor is an underground stone country club basement, the next two floors are opulent stately rooms with high ceilings, a great hall with a luxurious grand chandelier and an enormous marble fireplace

• The fourth floor has a wide derelict corridor area with 16 rooms which can be used for set-builds, and the fifth floor is an attic. There are many rooms available on each floor as well for breakout areas like hair & makeup, costume changing, art prop storage, green areas and celebrity private rooms

• Addington Palace has a unit base split into two areas and can be hired separately or altogether. Being a one-minute walk away from the palace with access to water and no height restrictions, it is available for all size of unit bases from short, medium and long-term hires. The unit base has 200 parking spaces. This can be for productions filming on site of the palace or used for a unit base for a nearby location in Surrey, Croydon, Greater London etc

• On the underground basement floor there are additional rooms available for prop and production storage spaces that can be hired for long periods of time as a holding area, as well as office spaces for any art crew or director meetings, or blackout rooms for editing suites (some rooms have no windows)

Points of interest

Addington Palace’s unique structure and history allow us to accommodate a wide variety of productions, making us much more than just a period piece location. For example, our upper and lower floors include abandoned areas that can be creatively adapted for set designs, offering filmmakers greater flexibility.

We also provide a convenient unit base for up to 200 cars, making it an ideal spot for productions filming in the Croydon or Greater London area. A memorable moment involved a location scout who found us via Google Images just before Christmas. Desperate to find a unit base in Croydon, he knocked on our door, and after a discussion with myself, the scout secured the perfect base for his production within days.

Our proximity to central London, coupled with the feeling of a secluded country estate, makes Addington Palace a unique and desirable filming location. We also offer on-site accommodation for cast, crew and directors, allowing them to stay close to the set and maximise productivity.

For instance, during a fashion shoot, production managers booked the Bungalow Cottage adjacent to the palace, allowing them to hold meetings in a relaxed and convenient setting.

One of the most unforgettable shoots at the palace was a medieval fantasy film featuring a cast dressed as ogres, wizards, and all sorts of magical creatures. On the first day of filming, our accountant, unknowing there was this filming, felt a bit unwell with a cold, and so decided to head home early.

As she was exiting the palace through the front door and feeling somewhat woozy, she unexpectedly bumped into and came face-to-face with a towering, all-green ogre. Believing she must be hallucinating, she blinked hard and asked in a startled way “Where on earth did you come from?”, and in a very nonchalant voice the ogre replied “Lewisham”!

With many thanks to Sean Power at Addington Palace for his help in compiling this article.

All images supplied by Addington Palace.