Calling all Film-Makes and Location Scouts
Marketing Lancashire, the destination management organisation for Lancashire, is working with Creative England, to help raise the profile of the many unique and photogenic locations and venues available in and around the county, for television and film-makers.
Creative England supports creative ideas, talent and businesses in film, TV, games and digital media and, as part of that support, offers a searchable database of places and properties for location scouts and production teams looking to find the perfect setting for their next TV drama, documentary or feature film.
Amongst the first Lancashire venues on the database, added by Marketing Lancashire as part of a project to help develop the Pennine Lancashire Museums group, are some of the county’s most iconic industrial buildings such as Queen Street and Helmshore Mills; Both these locations are not new to the big and small screen, with Queen Street Mill in Burnley having made an appearance in the Oscar-winning film, The King’s Speech and Helmshore Mills, having featured in the landmark TV series, Sharpe. Users of the database, will now also find Towneley Hall in Burnley, which recently appeared in the ever-popular Antiques Roadshow on BBC TV; Haworth Museum and Art Gallery in Accrington, home to Europe’s largest collection of Tiffany Glass; The Whitaker in Rawtenstall, with its Victorian parlour and incredible examples of taxidermy; Turton Tower near Edgworth, a classic black and white Tudor house with splendid period rooms and Gawthorpe Hall, once the family home of textile collector Rachel-Kay Shuttleworth, a stunning house holding the renowned Gawthorpe Textiles Collection and referred to as the ‘Downton of the North’.
Ruth Connor, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire said
“Filming in Lancashire has added around £1million to the local economy in the last year and we’d like to see that increasing year on year. We have so much to offer, from the undisputed natural beauty of the Forest of Bowland and Morecambe Bay, the mighty Lancaster Castle and historic properties such as Hoghton Tower, Leighton Hall, as well as famous landmarks from Blackpool Tower to Pendle Hill. Marketing Lancashire will continue to develop ideas with Creative England, and work with our district partners and members to make Lancashire a film-friendly destination, to benefit from the commercial income and visitors that result from this added exposure.
“Films such as The King’s Speech and TV programmes and The Trip, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, had a tangible impact on visitor numbers and, even years after their screening, we continue to arrange media trips for journalists from as far afield as New Zealand and to secure good PR on the back of them. However, we’d like much more filming to take place in the county and by adding to this useful database, we hope to open many more opportunities for all kinds of attractions across Lancashire.”
The Creative England database includes locations of all types, from traditional terraced houses to the grandest of country mansions or castles, from industrial warehouses to barns and outhouses, fields and beaches, quirky cafés and restaurants with a view. For more information about the database and how to include your property or attraction go www.creativeengland.co.uk.
To plan your next visit to Pennine Lancashire Museums www.visitlancashire.com
<<ENDS>>
Media enquiries:
Anna Izza, Head of PR and Communications, Marketing Lancashire 01772 426 459 or Laura Crabb, PR and Communications Executive, Marketing Lancashire 01772 426 450