The House Mill
House Mill tours
Three Mills Island, Bromley-by-Bow
Hour-long tours of the tidal mill beside the studio, listed at £10 a person with a guidebook or poster and a hot drink. Check the dates before you travel.
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Wes Anderson · stop-motion · 2009
Fantastic Mr Fox
A stop-motion film is made one still at a time. This one was written at Roald Dahl’s house, animated on Stage C in east London and opened in Leicester Square. Press the shutter and walk the table.
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Shoot a frame
One still at a time
Eight places, in the order the film was made. Each press of the shutter moves the paper fox one small step; three frames bring it to the next real place.
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0 frames shot · 1 of 8 places reached · Frame 0 of 21
The fox waits at Gipsy House. Press the shutter.
Stop 1 of 8 · Dahl’s Buckinghamshire
Gipsy House
Dahl lived at Gipsy House in Great Missenden from 1954 until his death in 1990. Wikipedia says it still remains in the family.
Anderson said part of the film was written at Dahl’s house.
A search-result summary of a Rolling Stone interview says Anderson wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach at Dahl’s own home, and that the crew built a miniature Gipsy House.
In the garden Dahl used a Romani vardo, acquired in the 1960s, as a writing room. He wrote Danny, the Champion of the World there in 1975.
A private family home. It is not pinned and no road is named; the photograph is the village High Street.
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Stage C
Voices in a forest, puppets in Bow
Sources for opening night
The same article says voices were recorded outside a studio: in a forest, an attic and a stable, by September 2007.
Wikipedia’s film article says production began in 2007 on Stage C, and that animation took place there. Anderson said part of the film was shot at Three Mills, which for him made it a British film.
Wikipedia calls 3 Mills Studios a 10-acre film and TV studio on Three Mills Island, on the River Lea in east London. The House Mill was built in 1776 by Daniel Bisson and rebuilt after a fire. It is Grade I listed and described as the largest tidal mill in the world.
A working studio. Its page directs people to enquire by email or phone and does not say it is open to the public; the lane outside is public.
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That is a wrap
Go and find the frames
The museum and church in Great Missenden, the House Mill, the Odeon and the Saatchi Gallery are open to visit. The studio is a working lot seen from its lane. Gipsy House is a private home and the puppet workshop in Altrincham has no checked address; neither is pinned.
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Where it is now
6 places you can see between Buckinghamshire and London, plus a private house and a puppet workshop named by their towns.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A museum in the village centre. Book online for guaranteed entry; check its opening hours page first.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A parish church and churchyard above the village. Walk up Church Lane; respect services and mourners.
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Great Missenden, October 2023. Acediscovery · CC BY 4.0 Dahl’s Buckinghamshire · 81–83 High Street, Great Missenden
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
The museum opened on 10 June 2005, opened by Cherie Blair, and welcomed the public the next day.
A museum in the village centre. Book online for guaranteed entry; check its opening hours page first.
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The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden, March 2022. No Swan So Fine · CC BY-SA 4.0 Dahl’s Buckinghamshire · Church Lane, Great Missenden
Church of St Peter and St Paul
Dahl is buried at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Great Missenden. His children still leave toys and flowers there.
A parish church and churchyard above the village. Walk up Church Lane; respect services and mourners.
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London film location tours
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A bed in Dahl’s village.
An inn in Great Missenden, a short walk from the museum.
The Nags Head
The Nags Head, Great Missenden
Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
An inn on London Road with six rooms, in the village where Dahl lived and where the film’s writing began. Pictured: the village High Street, 2016.
Check roomsGo there
See the village and the mill.
The museum, the House Mill and London film walks.
Roald Dahl Museum
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
High Street, Great Missenden
The village museum that keeps Dahl’s papers. Its page recommends booking online for guaranteed entry. Pictured: the museum, 2023.
Plan a visitThe House Mill
House Mill tours
Three Mills Island, Bromley-by-Bow
Hour-long tours of the tidal mill beside the studio, listed at £10 a person with a guidebook or poster and a hot drink. Check the dates before you travel.
See toursViator · Ad / affiliate
London film location tours
Central London
Live marketplace results for film and TV location walks in London. Check which pass Leicester Square.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
No dates yet.
Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
The archive
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
8 of 8 places · 10 of 10 stories
Gipsy House
Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
Writing at Dahl’s house
Anderson says part of the film was written at Dahl’s house in Great Missenden.
The writing room
Dahl’s garden vardo, where he wrote, stands behind the house; the film’s crew are said to have built a miniature.
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
81–83 High Street, Great Missenden
The papers
Dahl’s manuscripts, letters and Ideas Books are kept in the village museum, opened in 2005.
Church of St Peter and St Paul
Church Lane, Great Missenden
Toys and flowers
Dahl’s children still leave toys and flowers at his grave.
Mackinnon & Saunders
Altrincham, Greater Manchester
The puppets
A workshop in Altrincham is listed among the makers of the puppets for the film.
3 Mills Studios
Three Mill Lane, Bow, London
Stage C
Production began in 2007 on Stage C at Three Mills, where the animation was shot.
Voices outdoors
The actors’ voices were recorded outside a studio: a forest, an attic and a stable.
The House Mill
Three Mill Lane, Bromley-by-Bow, London
A mill next door
The largest tidal mill in the world stands on the same island as the studio.
Odeon, Leicester Square
24–26 Leicester Square, London
Opening night
A dual world premiere opens the 53rd London Film Festival in Leicester Square.
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, Chelsea
The after-party
The premiere party moves to the Saatchi Gallery on King’s Road.
