‘The Gentlemen’ Season 2 Takes Us From English Country Estates to Italian Palazzos in Mob Territory

On Location peels back the curtain on some of your favourite films, television shows, and more. This time, we ask: where was The Gentlemen Season 2 filmed?
The second season of Guy Ritchie’s hit Netflix series, The Gentleman, is here. The first series introduced us to Eddie Horniman (Theo James), a young British aristocrat who had inherited his father’s grand country estate, only to discover that behind the family money was a secret cannabis empire.
In Season 2, Horniman, now the Duke of Halstead, is keen to expand the operation, alongside his business partner, Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario). This will take them out of the English countryside and subterranean criminal worlds of the East End and Liverpool, and thrust them instead into the world of the Mafia, as they attempt to go international and do business with the dangerous Capo dei Capi, Marco Moretti (Sergio Castellito).
“The madness of Italy’s beauty, its culture, its history and its traditions was something I felt would fit perfectly into our show,” says Ritchie. “I had wanted to expand the canvas of The Gentlemen in this season. Italy was just an obvious choice. British gangsters colliding with the Italian Mafia just feels so right for our world. Some fruit hangs low and looks so tasty you just can’t resist for very long.”
Here are some of the key locations used in the filming of The Gentleman Seasons 1 and 2, from Ritchie’s Ashcombe Estate to Lake Maggiore in Italy.
Where was The Gentlemen Season 2 filmed?

The Badminton Estate, Gloucestershire
While some scenes of The Gentleman were filmed on stage sets at Alperton Studios in Wembley, London, the exterior of Halstead Manor, the fictional home of the Horniman family, is The Badminton Estate.
The real-life home of the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort is a popular filming location and wedding venue in the south Gloucestershire countryside. Viewers with a keen eye may recognise the property from Netflix favourite Bridgerton and movies including Pearl Harbour and 28 Days Later.
The sprawling estate has been occupied for thousands of years, and the remains of several Roman villas surround the main home. The medieval property was owned by the Boteler family before Edward Somerset, fourth Earl of Worcester, purchased the manors of Great and Little Badminton in 1612. It’s his son, Sir Thomas Somerset, who made significant alterations to the original house, and the property has captured the imagination of high society and even the royal family over the centuries – Charles II stayed in the house, and the late Queen Elizabeth II was a regular visitor to the annual Horse Trials.
“Badminton felt immediately right for Halstead,” says supervising location Manager Iggy Ellis, “because it’s a proper, lived-in home rather than a National Trust museum. So inside, there’d be some walking sticks by the door or a few shotgun rounds from where they’d been out shooting. There were cracks and tired bits, as you’d get in every family home. But there was also oil painting and history and majesty. It felt perfect for our story.”
Ashcombe Estate, Wiltshire
In episode one, Ritchie made his own country estate, Ashcombe Park, available for filming a shooting party scene. “That was a lot of fun but tricky at times too,” says production designer Martyn John. “You’re in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal or internet. We had to take everything in; so, flowers, food, dogs, guns and also… frozen partridges.”
Ashcombe is a working farm set in 1,100 acres of rolling chalk land, and is named after the ash trees and the valleys (‘combes’) that monopolise much of it. It has been the family home of Ritchie since 2001 (when he bought it with ex-wife Madonna for £9 million), and was previously the home of photographer Cecil Beaton.
Loseley Park, Surrey
Much like in season one, some of the exterior and interior scenes at Halstead Manor were filmed at Loseley Park, a historic home just outside of Guildford that is now used as a wedding venue.
“Where possible we tried to maximise every location because when you move around it costs money that could be on the screen,” explains supervising locations manager Iggy Ellis. “So we used a cottage in the grounds of Loseley for the exteriors of gamekeeper Geoff’s cottage and built the interior in the studio because we needed lots of camera space and somewhere for Geoff’s menagerie of animals.”
Swakeleys House, Ickenham
Another multi-purpose location was Swakeleys House, a 17th-century mansion in Ickenham. “It was a great find because we were able to use it for so many things,” explains Ellis. “From the rehab centre where Freddie is recovering from the cocaine habit he acquired in the first series to the interior of the prison where Bobby Glass is meant to be serving time.”
Built in 1638, it is an excellent example of the ‘Artisan Mannerism’ architectural style, a form of Jacobean architecture that features decorative classical flourishes such as gable ends. It was the home of Sir Edmund Wright, Lord Mayor of London, and was visited twice by the famed diarist Samuel Pepys.
The Adelphi Building, London
The Adelphi Building off The Strand was transformed into an auction house for a scene in which Susie Glass bids millions for a Botticelli painting, which is later snatched by a gang on e-bikes outside. “I wanted to use that network of streets around the Savoy Hotel, including a secret little tunnel that cuts between John Adam Street and the riverside,” explains Ellis of the chase. “It takes at least three months’ notice to get London streets closed for filming, and there were some careful negotiations with everyone from Westminster Council to building owners and the Savoy Hotel itself. But that amazing chase really is one of the things I’m most proud of.”
The Grade II-listed Adelphi has retained many of its original 1930s Art Deco features, including its impressive stone facade, classic columns and Gilbert Ledwood sculptures. Today it is predominantly used as an office space, and houses the publisher Condé Nast, whose titles include not only Condé Nast Traveler, but also Vogue, Tatler and GQ.
Villa Rusconi Clerici, Lake Maggiore
Villa Rusconi Clerici became the glamorous palazzo home of Mafia heiress (and Eddie’s love interest) Contessa Isabella Savanza de Parme, known as Bella. “We spent three full days looking at several amazing palazzos, including one on Lake Como,” shares John. “But as soon as I saw the one at Lake Maggiore, I knew this was the one. It was in a much less touristy area and it had such great light and glittering water. You could point the camera anywhere and it just looked beautiful.”
The interiors too were perfect for Bella’s home. “I wanted a house or a villa which reflected the taste – if not the scale – of Eddie’s country estate, Halstead Manor” says Ellis. “I wanted these two aristocratic families to merge, stylistically. So, you have all the antiques and the paintings that reflect tradition and ancestry, but also modern pieces because, despite the centuries-old history of both families, there’s a new generation in charge now.”
Villa Rusconi Clerici is a beautifully preserved 19th-century palazzo on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore, and unsurprisingly is popular as a wedding venue. The villa that exists today was built for a Hungarian colonel and revolutionary, Stefano Türr, who was married to one of Emperor Napoleon’s cousins and became intrinsic to the unification of Italy. The interiors are Art Nouveau in style, including a grand staircase featuring a wrought iron balustrade.
Grand Hotel Majestic, Lake Maggiore
The Grand Hotel Majestic stood in for the fictional The Grand Hotel, where a wedding takes place later in the series. First built in 1870, it was one of the finest examples of luxury hospitality in the area, and was immediately popular with the international elite.
Unsurprisingly, considering its location on the shores of Lake Maggiore, it is often chosen as a wedding venue for modern couples, much like in the show. One of its chief assets is the view across the lake to Borromeo Island, with actor Theo James pictured standing on one of the balconies looking out across the water in one scene. While the interiors are French in style, with parquet flooring and chandeliers, the grounds are also particularly lavish, with centuries-old trees and flowers, and there’s even a small private beach.
Chiesa San Leonardo, Lake Maggiore
The 16th-century church Chiesa San Leonardo also features in the new season. Located in the lakeside village of Pallanza, the church features striking columns of pink Baveno granite, as well as 17th-century wooden sculptures and altars. There’s also a 65-metre high bell tower, as well as access to the lake from a dramatic staircase.
Where was The Gentleman Season 1 filmed?

Stoke Court, Buckinghamshire
The Badminton Estate gets much of the credit for appearing as the exterior of the fictional Halstead Manor, but some of the interior scenes used Stoke Court in Buckinghamshire.
Stoke Court is home to the study, where Freddie shoots Liverpudlian drug dealer Tommy after a memorable scene featuring a chicken costume, Halstead Manor’s boot room, drawing room and orangery.
The real-life property is best known for its association with mid-18th-century poet Thomas Gray, who holidayed there during his childhood.
Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire
Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire plays the part of the home of extravagantly wealthy drug lord Stanley Johnson, aka Bridgewater House. The neo-Palladian English country house was designed by Isaac Ware in 1754, and it’s where we see Susie Glass and Stanley engage in a polite-ish war of words over his desire to take over her father’s empire.
London
The Gentleman’sfilming locations depict two sides of the coin: lavish country houses owned by the landed gentry and hideouts used by the criminal underworld. For the latter, the locations team looked to London.
Locations used across the capital include The Reform Club in Pall Mall, which doubled up for Pinky’s Club, and Billingsgate Market, which is mentioned by name in the series as the headquarters of the Liverpudlian drug group.
The exterior shots of the Croydon Tower Block were taken at Brandon Estate, while the boxing ring is the now-closed party venue Printworks in Rotherhithe.
The Gentleman is available to stream on Netflix now. A version of this story originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller UK.

Source: www.cntraveler.com