Maps of Movies

Darkest Hour (2017)

Where Darkest Hour says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A wartime London filmed in Manchester, with Buckingham Palace played by a Yorkshire country house

Scenes and places

Churchill faces the House of Commons (1940)

The opposition demands Chamberlain go, and the only man they will accept in his place is Churchill, who has a poor reputation in Parliament. The film opens on this fight.

Set in Palace of Westminster, House of Commons — The chamber where the opposition demands Chamberlain's resignation and where Churchill later gives his speeches. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Parliament's seat in London, shown here through two Manchester buildings.

Filmed at Manchester Town Hall — Doubles for the Houses of Parliament. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Filmed at John Rylands Library, Manchester — Also doubles for the Houses of Parliament. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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A telegram reaches Churchill's secretary (1940)

Elizabeth Layton receives a telegram from the Palace. It is the summons that will make Churchill prime minister.

Set in Chartwell, Churchill's country home — Churchill's country house, where his secretary Elizabeth Layton receives a telegram from Buckingham Palace. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Churchill's real country home in Kent, now run as a museum.

Filmed at Chartwell, Westerham — Exterior used for the telegram scene; this is Churchill's real country home. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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The King invites Churchill to form a government (1940)

The sceptical King invites Churchill to form a government, and Churchill walks out as prime minister, with Chamberlain and Halifax still in his cabinet.

Set in Buckingham Palace — King George VI, sceptical of Churchill, reluctantly invites him to form a government. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Britain's royal residence in London, played indoors by a country house in South Yorkshire.

Filmed at Wentworth Woodhouse, Wentworth — Used for the interior of Buckingham Palace. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Churchill meets the French prime minister (1940)

Churchill flies to see Reynaud, who thinks he is deluded about the Battle of France. Churchill is furious that the French have no counterattack plan.

Set in Paris, meeting with Paul Reynaud — Churchill visits French prime minister Paul Reynaud, who thinks him delusional for not admitting the Allies are losing the Battle of France. Google Maps · Apple Maps

France's capital; no filming location for this scene is documented.

The Calais garrison is sacrificed (1940)

Against the advice of the War Cabinet, Churchill orders the Calais garrison to draw the Germans away from Dunkirk. It is a decision he must live with.

Set in Calais, 30th Infantry Brigade — Churchill orders Brigadier Nicholson in Calais to lead the 30th Infantry Brigade to distract the enemy and buy time for Dunkirk. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A French port town; the film shot it at a Kent fort.

Filmed at Fort Amherst, Chatham — Stood in for the Calais garrison. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Admiral Ramsay's operations room (1940)

Churchill calls Admiral Ramsay to start the evacuation of the troops from Dunkirk. His idea of using civilian boats is set in motion.

Set in Admiral Ramsay's operational HQ — The base from which Admiral Ramsay organises the evacuation from Dunkirk.

The film's evacuation command post, set in the same fort as Calais.

Filmed at Fort Amherst, Chatham — Also used for Admiral Ramsay's operational HQ. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Churchill rides the Underground (1940)

Unsure what to do, Churchill slips out and rides the Tube for the first time in his life. The passengers all tell him to keep fighting.

Set in London Underground, Westminster — Churchill, uncertain, impulsively rides the London Underground for the first time and asks passengers for their opinions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A carriage built into a studio, with a real train from a museum in Essex.

Filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden — The Underground carriage scene was filmed at the studio, with a 1959 stock train hired from Mangapps Railway Museum in Essex. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Characters

• Winston Churchill — The new prime minister in May 1940, distrusted in Parliament, facing the question of fighting on or negotiating.
• Elizabeth Layton — Churchill's new secretary, rebuked for mishearing him in his first days in office.
• King George VI — The sceptical King who reluctantly invites Churchill to form a government.
• Lord Halifax — The Conservative colleague many wanted as prime minister, appointed Foreign Secretary by Churchill.

Questions answered on the map

• Where were the Parliament scenes in Darkest Hour really filmed?