Step inside Drayton House, the manor where Saltburn was filmed

Article by Your Home and Garden

A little-known medieval mansion sets the scene for writer-director Emerald Fennell’s debaucherously divisive film, Saltburn

Saltburn is the hot film on everyone’s lips right now. It’s spawned numerous bathtub-inspired candles, the babygirlification of the mesmerizingly 6 ft 5 Jacob Elordi (a fact that SNL couldn’t resist paying homage to multiple times) and a trending TikTok dance scene.

But within all of the glitter and gags, the true star of Saltburn is undoubtedly a 127-room mansion in the English countryside of Northamptonshire.

With its imposing Baroque façade, sumptuous interiors and sprawling gardens, the privately owned mansion Drayton House is the perfect location for the fictional home of an aristocratic family.

Read on for everything you need to know about the majestic Drayton House and stream Saltburn now on Prime Video with a 7 day FREE trial. Subscribe here.

Where was Saltburn filmed?

In real life, ‘Saltburn’ estate is Drayton House in Northamptonshire, north of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The stately home has been in the same family since 1770, but its construction may have started in the early 1300s.

Determined to use a property that hadn’t been seen on film, TV or even in photos before, writer-director Emerald Fennell and production designer Suzie Davies fell in love with the best-kept secret that is Drayton House.

They persuaded the homeowners to hand over the keys by promising the cast and crew would never mention the name of the mansion or its location. Meanwhile, on TikTok, a local woman outed Drayton House and its whereabouts.

Ultimately, the filmmakers wanted Saltburn to feel like a real home — inhabited by a real and flawed family — not a set or sound stage. The grand decor of Saltburn was simply the clutter of everyday life for the Catton family as they went about their business.

How Drayton House became ‘Saltburn’

While strict heritage rules mean English period homes are notoriously hard to modify for film and TV, Drayton House’s owners gave Fennell and Davies almost free rein to tweak the interiors.

For example, in the fictional Cattons’ television room, Davies removed the carpet, painted the walls red and added silk panels. A connecting room between Felix and Oliver’s bedrooms was seemingly converted to a bathroom, which they share in the film. The focal clawfoot bath was custom-designed to accommodate Jacob Elordi’s 195-centimetre (!) frame for that now-infamous bathtub scene.

Davies repurposed an existing dining table in one of the home’s three dining rooms but brought in chairs with removable covers. She also added red curtains to set the mood for one nightmarish scene.

The artwork in the house is a combination of contemporary art supplied by the production design team and original pieces owned by the family. The team sourced furniture from Lots Road Auctions in London, Pierre Frey wallpapers were added, and marble busts were topped with silly hats — adding to the whimsy.

Unfortunately, the topiary maze isn’t real and is mostly CGI (computer-generated imagery). The centre, featuring a minotaur sculpture by Nicola Hicks and potted hedging, was constructed in the flesh for a pivotal scene, but the rest of the maze? Digital wizardry. But Jacob Elordi’s eyebrow piercing? As real as they come.

Stream Saltburn now on Prime Video with a 7 day FREE trial. Subscribe here.