Where Was Peaky Blinders Filmed? 8 Hit Filming Locations to Thank For the Mega-Hit Series
Do you love Peaky Blinders as much as we do?
If you do, you probably have been wondering the same thing we were before we wrote this article.
Where is Peaky Blinders filmed?
It's a good question, and I can see how you came to think about it, just as we did. Peaky Blinders excels as a TV series for many reasons, and one of those reasons, we think, is the level of realism that oozes from the show. A couple of episodes in and you feel like you are really in post-war Birmingham, taking part in a street shoot-out.
But, you aren't in post-war Birmingham; in fact, no one is in Birmingham at all!
Despite the Brummy setting of the show, Peaky Blinders was in fact filmed in other locations throughout the U.K., namely Yorkshire and Liverpool. Reasons are partly due to the fact these locations provided such accurate backdrops for the scenes the show wanted to replicate, and partly due to the attractive funding given to the show by the Yorkshire Content Fund to ensure Yorkshire locations were used in production.
Regardless of why it happened, it is safe to say everything turned out excellently. Wouldn't you say?
Let's take a look together at the exact filming locations used in Peaky Blinders production to make such an accurate and action-packed series.
Warning: This post contains show spoilers.
Port Sunlight
Everyone loves the pretty badass character of Polly Shelby in Peaky Blinders right? The character was, of course, played by the recently deceased Helen McCrory (may she rest in peace).
Well, if you loved her as much as I did, you will remember when she is gifted the peaceful home she deserves by the Shelby brothers in Season 2. The scenes of the house given to Aunt Polly and the surrounding beautiful village were actually shot in Port Sunlight in Liverpool. The village was built in the 1880s and hosts the Port Sunlight Museum, which is a great spot to visit if you are ever in the area.
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Black Country Living Museum, Dudley
The Peaky Blinders production team struck gold when they chose the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, the West Midlands, as filming location. This museum is specifically an open-air museum that includes reconstructed shops, houses and work areas all accurate to the 1920s Industrial Revolution period of English history. You can expect vintage cars, period costumes and live demonstrations of life at that period of time in this museum. It is essentially a Peaky Blinders film set already made and ready to use!
Many scenes for the series were shot in this location, including Charlie Strong's Scrap Metal Yard, Canal Street Bridge, The Workers' Institute and more.
Powis Street
Powis Street in Liverpoool was already a famous Liverpudlian location before the filming of Peaky Blinders took place in the historic spot, as it was where the drummer of The Beatles Ringo Starr grew up.
The now-abandoned residential street was home to a lot of filming for the Peaky Blinders series, being used right from the first shot of the first season. The street has been revamped since filming, but before it was perfect for a blacked-out, run-down and ravaged 1920s Birmingham street. The filming location plays home to Tommy Shelby and his family, the Shelby headquarters, and the illegal betting office within the show.
Arley Hall
As the Shelby family move upwards in life, so does the production's filming locations. Arley Hall in Cheshire is used as the setting for Tommy Shelby's manor home that appears in Season 5 of Peaky Blinders, moving a fair distance away from their beginnings on Powis Street.
The stunning country manor was built in 1832 and is owned by the Ashbrook family. Tourists can visit the mansion and have a walk around the beautiful gardens if they want to imagine what it would be like for (spoiler alert!) the newly appointed MP Tommy Shelby! (It feels pretty fancy indeed.)
Leeds Town Hall
When we see Tommy's archenemy Major Campbell meet up with a spy in a museum to exchange intel, this "museum" was in fact filmed in a few different real-life locations. The exterior of the museum with its impressive columns is actually Leeds Town Hall—just another example of some great Peaky Blinders filming taking place right in the heart of every day North Yorkshire!
Maybe next time you are strolling through Central Leeds, you might catch a glimpse of Cillian Murphy himself. Wouldn't that be a treat for the eyes?
Formby Beach
Moving back to Liverpool now, we have another amazing filming location used perfectly in Peaky Blinders' production.
Formby Beach is a National Trust property with a picturesque landscape, stunning views and an extensive coastline. It was one of the most popular beaches in the wider area, for good reason, and it also provided a top-notch backdrop for one of the most dramatic scenes in Peaky Blinders' history.
We see Formby Beach in the series in the ultimate confrontation between Alfie Solomons, played by the one and only Tom Hardy, and Tommy Shelby. After a difficult stand-off, Tommy takes Alfie's life and leaves him with only his trusty dog to look over him on the beach. The dramatic culmination of tension between the two is an epic scene and it couldn't have found a better home in its Liverpudlian filming spot.
Victoria Baths, Manchester
Manchester's Victoria Baths were used to convey the incredible horse fair where Cillian Murphy first meets his love interest May Carelton in Season 2. This unique spot in the North West provides an important turning point in the show's history.
The location is an infamous bathhouse now turned into a wedding and arts venue that hosts tours and refreshments to visitors. The listed building has an important history in Northern England and was a fantastic choice of scenery for such an integral English TV drama.
Don't you agree?
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway
Finally on our list of iconic Peaky Blinders filming locations, we have the all-important Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in Yorkshire. Lots of scenes for the hit series we all know and love were filmed in this historic railway station, including the important and emotional scene between Grace and Inspector Campbell.
The station was known to be frequented by the Bronte sisters, and their journeys to and from this station provided inspiration for very important pieces of English literature. What better place to film a newly important piece of British culture and media?
So, hey, now we have finished our list, the next time someone asks you, 'Where is Peaky Blinders filmed?', now you know!