Edinburgh locations

“As North and South was set in the mid 19th Century, we were looking for a “Dickens” style of housing and streets. Most of Lancashire/Yorkshire, where the exterior Mill was located, had housing and streets built in the late 19th Century.

We found a street here and a street, there but they were spread out over too wide an area, and to dress them and film in them would have wrecked a tight schedule.

We needed a concentration of Victorian “Dickensian” type streets within a mile or two of each other where the production could base itself.

After much searching in the North West we decided to follow in the footsteps of the BBC Production “Daniel Deronda” which had been filmed in Edinburgh the year before. There we found the Higgins’ house on a recce with Ros and Heather, the wonderful people at Edinburgh Film Focus. In fact, thanks to them we found in one day about 10 locations, including the Higgins house, which we could comfortably film in over 9 days, all within a one to two mile radius. The rest of the locations were found by us in the next three weeks.”

Ian Vasey, Location Manager, North and South

Map of Locations

click to enlarge

Pictures of Edinburgh in the left column courtesy of Smithylass and Acemarsupial. Images in the right column are screencaps from the BBC drama North and South.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Steps from Chambers Street to Guthrie Street: Steps near Milton Factories The steps on Chambers Street in Edinburgh lead down to Guthrie Street where Margaret Hale first meets Nicholas Higgins in episode 1 after the factory whistle blows. He rescues her from the bustling mill workers and recovers her purse. You can see that the drainpipe is still boxed after filming. Posters were on the walls and some remained for quite a while (see third picture on the left) but have now been removed.





Warriston’s Close: Steps in Milton Warriston’s Close comprises steps leading from the Royal Mile to Cockburn Street. This is where Mason calls to John Thornton as he’s walking down the steps in episode 3. Mason tells Thornton that Margaret might be connected with Leonard’s death. Note: the first picture on the left was taken by Smithylass in 2011, whereas the second picture was taken by Acemarsupial a few years ago. The stone structure spanning the steps has now gone. It would have been there during filming, but the production filmed the actors near the top of the steps so that the structure would not appear in shot.





Calton Hill, near the Stewart Monument: Views of Milton This location was used on a number of occasions: during Margaret’s walks, when Margaret first meets Bessy and Higgins, during John’s walks, Boucher’s climb up the hill and again the view of Milton is seen at Boucher’s funeral. This is a popular tourist spot for its view of Edinburgh Castle and the rooftops of Edinburgh’s Old Town.





St Stephen Place, Stockbridge district: The Hales’ House
St Stephen Place is located off St Stephen Street in Stockbridge, an area located towards the north of the city of Edinburgh. In North and South the archway was dark but in pictures 3 and 4 below you can see a reverse angle through the archway showing the street that was used for filming outside the Hales’ house. Mr Thornton stands under the archway when he sees Margaret talking to Higgins in episode 3. When Margaret spots him Thornton turns and walks away under the arch – there is a screencap of this below.





William Street: Milton Shops
William Street is located to the west of Princes Street in Edinburgh. It is used in several scenes in North and South. At the start of episode 3, this location is used briefly when Mr Bell spots Mr Thornton walking quickly down the street after Margaret’s rejection of his proposal. In another scene in the same episode Mr Bell comes across Mr Thornton again and they meet Mr and Miss Latimer who are walking behind them. Mr Bell sees Margaret on the other side of the street and when he calls her over an awkward conversation ensues. Later in the episode Miss Dixon is faced with answering some difficult questions from Leonards, an acquaintance from Helstone, who is walking in the opposite direction. Margaret posts a letter to Fred in a postbox in the same street in episode 2 and in episode 4, she calls to Higgins and Mary from her carriage as she prepares to leave Milton in the snow.





St Stephen’s Centre: Lyceum Hall
Formerly St Stephen’s parish church, St Stephen’s Centre is used as the Lyceum Hall in North and South. It is located at the north end of St Vincent street. To the left of the building is St Stephen Street which leads to the Hales’ house in St Stephen Place (see above). This is used for the so-called ‘300 mile look’ in episode 1. Margaret walks up the steps and looks behind and up to see Thornton’s disapproving face from a window. Richard was actually looking from a window in central London for that shot, hence the ‘300 mile’ distance. Mr Hale teaches some of his lessons in the Lyceum Hall and the worker’s union also hold their meetings there.




Borthwick’s Close ‘Rag Alley’
Borthwick’s Close is just south of the Royal Mile and was used for a number of scenes. Margaret Hale walked down it as she explored Milton, Boucher and the rioters ran there when escaping the soldiers, Boucher was seen there again when ignored by fellow workers and John Thornton gave a little girl a coin in the alleyway as he went to see Higgins to offer him a job.



Forres Street: Aunt Shaw’s house, Harley Street, London
Forres Street is one of the streets that radiate out from Moray Place in the “New Town” of Edinburgh. It is the exterior shot for Aunt Shaw’s house in Harley Street, London.