We live in the tiny village where Great Expectations is filmed…it’s the perfect place as it hasn’t changed in 200 years
RESIDENTS in the hamlet where Great Expectations was filmed say it’s the perfect place for a period drama as it hasn’t changed in 200 years.
Buckler's Hard on the banks of the Beaulieu River in Hampshire's New Forest has a famous shipbuilding past and has barely changed since author Charles Dickens' time.
It comprises of just two rows of red-bricked cottages - only half of which are occupied in summer months - holiday accommodation, a pub, a church, and a museum.
Some residents today said the BBC filming which took place last year was like “going back in time,” while others complained about the increased noise at the time.
The hamlet was 'dressed' by the crew of a new BBC Dickens adaptation to turn it into a set for the drama.
Most of the filming at the village took place in March 2022, and saw a period "brig" ship brought up the river for the show.
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Jonathan Adams, a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton who has lived at Buckler's Hard since 1999, said: "It looked absolutely delightful when they were filming here.
"The village was closed to the public and they dressed everything up.
"There are still some props left around like wooden barrels, there were horses and carts around, they thatched the roof of a shed, and they even brought a period brig up the estuary.
"It was like going back in time. It didn't matter to me that there was a film crew here, it's busy here most of the time anyway.
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"You can't really hear the noise of visitors when you're out the back of the house anyway.
"It's such a wonderful place to live. Given my academic field and the history here, it's perfect.
"I sometimes even bring groups of students here from the university for teaching sessions.
"I think about half of the houses here have residents in them in the summer."
The village dates back to the 18th century, and was the birthplace of many British naval vessels, including much of Admiral Nelson's fleet, using the timber of the New Forest.
Its ship-building industry declined in the nineteenth-century and today the hamlet is given over to tourism, with a small maritime museum and a modern yachting marina.
During World War II the village was used to build motor torpedo boats and the river was a base for hundreds of landing craft for the Normandy invasion, Operation Overlord.
Not all Buckler's Hard residents appreciated being the centre of the Dickens' adaptation however, with one villager criticising the added “noise”.
A woman who has lived in her rented house at Buckler's Hard for three years, and did not wish to be named said: "There was a lot of noise here when they were filming.
"Not everybody enjoyed it, but it was very interesting and wonderful to see it as a film set.
"It can be a bit loud here when there are lots of tourists, but it's not too bad.
"It's an absolute privilege to live here.
"I think why would I buy a house when I can just rent one here?
"I don't think a day goes by where I take living here for granted.
"I feel like a custodian of the place."
Lesley Randle, from Portsmouth, who had just walked to Buckler's Hard from the nearby village of Beaulieu with a friend, said: "I am concerned for the residents that lots of people could start coming.
"They might see it on TV and think 'oh, we must go there now'.
"But I won't be watching it when it's comes out.
"I much prefer the old black and white film version."
Stewart McLoughlin, originally from the North East of England added: "It's the perfect place for a period drama isn't it?
"It looks like such a quaint place.
"Being on the TV show could be good for tourism here and bring in some more money for local businesses."
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Great Expectations is set in Kent but most of the other filming for the series was shot in Shropshire in May last year.
Written by Bafta-winning Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, Great Expectations started on Sunday on BBC One.
