Sumith Prasad
In Disney+’s British historical series ‘Renegade Nell,’ Nell Jackson’s father Sam Totter runs a pub named the Talbot in Tottenham, located near the city of London. The establishment is under the ownership of Lord Blancheford, the local magistrate who lives in his estate called Broadwater Hall. After the murder of Sam, Nell and her siblings lose the pub. Meanwhile, Thomas Blancheford kills his father to be the new lord of the estate. Realizing that her brother is not stable enough, Sofia learns dark arts to not lose Broadwater Hall to a distant relative. The two establishments are highly significant as far as the narrative of the first season is concerned!
The Captivating Broadwater Hall
There are several establishments in Britain that are named Broadwater Hall. The one in the South East English county of Kent is an 8-bedroom mansion located in the village of West Malling. Another residence with the same name can be found in the village of Moira in Northern Ireland, around eighteen miles away from the capital city of Belfast. However, none of these properties share any connection with the Blanchefords’ estate in the series since it is fictional. The production department used two remarkable properties to shoot scenes set in and around Broadwater Hall. The exterior of the estate belongs to Broughton Castle, a medieval fortified manor house located in the village of Broughton in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire.
The castle belongs to the Fienneses, who are a part of the Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes family. They hold the title Baron Saye and Sele as they are the descendants of the 16th baron. The manor house, which is situated on an artificial island, was initially built in the 1300s by Sir John de Broughton. After it became a part of the Fiennes family, Richard Fiennes rebuilt the building in the Tudor style in the 1550s. The establishment hosted James VI and I, the successor of Elizabeth I, several times. The property has featured in several renowned films and television shows, including ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and ‘Jane Eyre.’
The interior shots set in Broadwater Hall were filmed in Dorney Court, another Tudor manor house located in the village of Dorney in Buckinghamshire. The property was mentioned in ‘Domesday Book,’ a 1086 manuscript record of the Great Survey conducted by King William the Conqueror. It is currently owned by the descendants of Sir James Palmer, who served as a Member of Parliament and Chancellor of the Order of the Garter in the 17th century. Previous movies/shows filmed in the manor house include Netflix’s historical series ‘Bridgerton’ and Kenneth Branagh’s ‘All Is True.’
The Fictional Talbot
Several pubs all across England have the word “Talbot” in their names. The one in London, named “The Talbot,” is located on Mortimer Road. However, the Talbot in the series doesn’t have a real-life counterpart, just like Nell and her father Sam, who are fictitious as well. The Talbot we see in the show was set up by production designer Anna Pritchard and her team in a village around 80 miles away from Tottenham, where the pub is located in the period drama.
“We had a lot of different locations, however, some of the main ones were Crowhurst where the Talbot pub is set. We used this as our Tottenham hamlet and built facades to create additional buildings. This was executed brilliantly by Anna Pritchard [production designer] and her team,” cinematographer Oli Russell told British Cinematographer. The village is located north-west of the seaside town of Hastings in the ceremonial county of East Sussex.
Read More: Renegade Nell Ending: Does Nell Lose Her Power? Does Billy Leave Her?
