Where was A Woman of Substance filmed? The house and all the locations
Posted by Ra Moon
Adapting Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestselling novel, A Woman of Substance was filmed in Yorkshire and Liverpool.
The dual-timeline story follows young Emma Harte's forbidden romance (Jessica Reynolds) and her early shop-building in Armley, leading to Harte's department stores.
The narrative is intercut with her facing family threats in 1970s New York, with Brenda Blethyn as the older Emma.
Here is our spoiler-free guide to all the filming locations of A Woman of Substance. You'll find the locations in order of first appearance.
The dual-timeline story follows young Emma Harte's forbidden romance (Jessica Reynolds) and her early shop-building in Armley, leading to Harte's department stores.
The narrative is intercut with her facing family threats in 1970s New York, with Brenda Blethyn as the older Emma.
Here is our spoiler-free guide to all the filming locations of A Woman of Substance. You'll find the locations in order of first appearance.
A Woman of Substance locations
The first episode opens with an establishing shot in the streets of 1975 New York.
However, it was filmed near Liverpool's famous waterfront, with St Nicholas' Church next to the Tower Building replaced with a CGI skyscraper.
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Channel 4 and Google Maps
Image courtesy of Channel 4 and Google Maps
Harte's department store is the iconic Royal Liver Building on Liverpool's Pier Head waterfront, although the images of the full, tall building are also a digital creation.
Completed in 1911, it was Europe's tallest building at the time and a symbol of Liverpool's global port prosperity.
Today, it is a tourist attraction offering 360-degree views from its observation deck, and houses modern offices and apartments.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 and Google Maps
The interior is the grand octagonal hall inside the Port of Liverpool Building, another of the Three Graces alongside the Liver Building, the early 20th-century structures on the Pier Head waterfront.
Opened in 1907, this Grade II-listed former Mersey Docks office boasts a prominent dome and a lavish design, making it a great filming location for productions such as Sherlock Holmes.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
Emma Harte's office, staircase and corridors were filmed in Barnsley Town Hall in South Yorkshire, with New York’s skyline CGI'd into the scene.
The elegant 1930s classical design features a broad central staircase, Corinthian columns, and spaces for weddings and council meetings.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The A Woman of Substance house
Fairley Hall was filmed at Broughton Hall, now known as Broughton Sanctuary, a historic estate near Skipton, North Yorkshire, owned by the Tempest family since 1097.
Originating from a 14th-century acquisition, the current manor dates to 1597, with major 19th-century remodelling, including the dome-crowned conservatory featured in the series.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The interiors were also filmed at Broughton Hall, which is open for corporate retreats, yoga weekends, weddings, and filming.
With 17 individually styled bedrooms, exclusive-use retreats start from £25,000 for three nights, sleeping up to 32 guests.
Also, the gardens and some service rooms and corridors were filmed at Brodsworth Hall, which features 15 acres of meticulously restored Victorian landscapes near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
Emma's home in the early 1900s is a shooting lodge on the edge of Keighley Moor in West Yorkshire, located about 12 miles south of Broughton Hall.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The rock formations are the Cow and Calf Rocks on Ilkley Moor, also located in the same area.
This is a popular place for climbing in Yorkshire, with scenic views of the region from the top.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The cave is the Fairy Cave (also known as Calf Hole or Heights Cave), a large limestone chamber on the western slopes above the hamlet of Skirethorns, near Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales.
Excavated in the 1890s, it revealed prehistoric flints, an iron spearhead, antler tools, and ancient animal bones.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The landscapes around the estate, including the thorn tree, were also filmed in this area near Malham Moor.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
Some scenes in Armley were filmed at the The Living Museum of the North, also known as Beamish Museum, an open-air living history museum in County Durham, North East England.
Opened in 1972, the museum recreates life from the 1820s to the 1950s across 300 acres, with authentic buildings, costumed interpreters, trams, and exhibits.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The first Harte's Emporium store is the Annfield Plain Industrial Co-operative Society at Beamish Museum.
The square with the bandstand featured in the fifth episode is just around the corner.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The house is the former museum at Thwaite Mills, a water-powered industrial site in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Leeds City Council ran the complex as a working museum until 2024, with future plans unclear but hoped to respect its heritage.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
The factory is Quarry Bank Cotton Mill, one of the best-preserved textile factories from the Industrial Revolution, located in Styal, Cheshire.
Built in 1784, it used water power for cotton spinning and became the UK’s largest such operation by 1832.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
In the seventh episode, Bradford City Hall is featured, a Grade I listed Victorian town hall in West Yorkshire.
Completed in 1873, it is renowned for its Venetian Gothic architecture and iconic clock tower.
Image courtesy of Channel 4 - Map
Can you help to improve this article about the filming locations of A Woman of Substance? To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!
NOTICE: If you’re using this information on your website, please credit and link to this page as a source.
*****
NOTICE: If you’re using this information on your website, please credit and link to this page as a source.
*****
7 comments:
1- Anonymous - Mar 23, 2026, 1:40 PM
Not Black Country Living Museum. Armley scenes filmed in Beamish Living Museum of the North, Durham.
2- Anonymous - Mar 24, 2026, 12:40 AM
Emma Harte's office, staircase, and corridors were filmed in Barnsley Town Hall in June 2025. A green screen was used to create the New York skyline outside the windows.
Reply
3- Ra Moon - Mar 24, 2026, 12:32 PM
Thank you, updated!
4- Anonymous - Mar 27, 2026, 5:18 AM
The one location not mentioned in this article is Emma’s marital home. Does anyone know where that was filmed?
Reply
5- Ra Moon - Mar 27, 2026, 2:21 PM
It's the former museum at Thwaite Mills - article updated!
6- Anonymous - Mar 29, 2026, 11:40 AM
Hello! I think the rose gardens, etc., are the Brodsworth Hall National Trust site near Doncaster.
Reply
7- Ra Moon - Mar 29, 2026, 1:53 PM
Updated, cheers!
1- Anonymous - Mar 23, 2026, 1:40 PM
Not Black Country Living Museum. Armley scenes filmed in Beamish Living Museum of the North, Durham.
2- Anonymous - Mar 24, 2026, 12:40 AM
Emma Harte's office, staircase, and corridors were filmed in Barnsley Town Hall in June 2025. A green screen was used to create the New York skyline outside the windows.
Reply
3- Ra Moon - Mar 24, 2026, 12:32 PM
Thank you, updated!
4- Anonymous - Mar 27, 2026, 5:18 AM
The one location not mentioned in this article is Emma’s marital home. Does anyone know where that was filmed?
Reply
5- Ra Moon - Mar 27, 2026, 2:21 PM
It's the former museum at Thwaite Mills - article updated!
6- Anonymous - Mar 29, 2026, 11:40 AM
Hello! I think the rose gardens, etc., are the Brodsworth Hall National Trust site near Doncaster.
Reply
7- Ra Moon - Mar 29, 2026, 1:53 PM
Updated, cheers!
Ra Moon
Atlas of Wonders is looking for wonderful Filming Locations all around the world. We are constantly updating and improving our posts with new details and images. Follow us here:
All comments are reviewed prior to publication