Summerhouse is in Hackney, and Summerhouse does not exist. Peg out where it really was
One estate on screen · 10 in life
The drama keeps Summerhouse in Hackney. The cameras did not. Channel 4’s two series were filmed south of the river; when Netflix brought the show back six years later, it was the Isle of Dogs, De Beauvoir and corners of half a dozen more estates. Peg each one on the run it was filmed for.
The basket · 10 left
Pick a garment from the basket, then the line it belongs on.
Heygate and Loughborough for Channel 4; Samuda and De Beauvoir for Netflix.
The Samuda as the main Summerhouse in the fourth series; estates in Tottenham and Peckham; the empty Romford estate.
The Waterloo, Silverlock, Lindley and Rockingham estates.
FilmFixer: Top Boy 2 (production locations in Havering and Southwark)
Fill both lines to open three of the estates.
Walworth · by the Elephant and Castle
September 2010: the Heygate, the year before Top Boy filmed Summerhouse here.
The Heygate was built in Walworth from 1971 to 1974, to designs by Tim Tinker and Roger Westman: 1,214 homes for more than 3,000 people.
Its residents were moved out from 2007, the last of them in November 2013. Demolition began in April 2011, the year Top Boy began, and was finished in July 2014.
The site has been rebuilt as housing and shops, marketed as Elephant Park.
Attack the Block, Harry Brown and an episode of Luther were filmed on the estate too.
The estate is gone. Walk through Elephant Park, which is open to all, on the ground where it stood.
Lambeth · 2.9 km south-west
Loughborough Junction, Lambeth, between Brixton and Camberwell
With the Heygate, the Loughborough Estate played the Summerhouse Estate in the Channel 4 series of 2011 and 2013.
A lived-in council estate. Look from the surrounding streets and keep the residents’ walkways and doors to them.
Netflix · 2019 to 2023
Two estates share the part: a 1960s estate on the Thames at the Isle of Dogs, and De Beauvoir in Hackney, 7.0 km apart. For the fourth series the crew also took over an estate in Romford that had been emptied for rebuilding.
The Isle of Dogs
Manchester Road, Cubitt Town, Isle of Dogs
The main Summerhouse filming for the fourth series was done on the Samuda Estate, the location manager told Time Out.
Wikipedia lists it with the De Beauvoir Estate as Summerhouse for the third and fourth series.
It was built from 1965 to 1967 for the London County Council, designed by Gordon Tait, and named after the Samuda Brothers’ shipyard that stood on the site.
Its riverside tower, Kelson House, has 25 storeys of interlocking maisonettes, inspired by Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation.
Dirty Pretty Things was filmed on the estate too.
A lived-in estate. See it from Manchester Road; the walkways and stairwells belong to the residents.
Hackney · by the canal
De Beauvoir Town, Hackney, beside the Regent’s Canal
The De Beauvoir Estate in Hackney is one of the two estates that doubled as Summerhouse in the third and fourth series, with the Samuda Estate.
Hackney areas, London Fields, Dalston and Haggerston among them, were used for much of the filming.
A lived-in estate. Look from the canal towpath and the public streets around it.
81 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch
Not a filming location: 210 rooms at 81 Great Eastern Street, from Shoebox to Roomy, with Llama Inn on the roof. Booking direct gives free early check-in and late check-out and free cancellation until 2pm the day before. De Beauvoir, in the photograph, is a short bus ride north.
See the roomsRomford · the empty estate
Waterloo Road, Romford, Havering
The derelict Waterloo Estate was used for three weeks of filming, in several spots, shortly before it was knocked down for new building.
The flat the gang deal from was filmed in an empty estate in Romford that was about to be demolished, the location manager said.
The estate was emptied for rebuilding, and its exact blocks are not published, so it is not pinned. Waterloo Road runs beside it.
Dalston · South Hackney · Victoria Park
The estates moved; Hackney’s streets stayed. For the fourth series the crew went back to places they had set up in the third: the market on Ridley Road, a café on Well Street, a bench in Victoria Park. The café and the park are 0.7 km apart.
Dalston · the market
Ridley Road, E8, opposite Dalston Kingsland station, off Kingsland High Street
The crew went back to Ridley Road for the fourth series, a place they had set up in the third.
There are more than 150 stalls, up from about 20 when the market began in the late 1880s, selling fruit and vegetables, fabric, clothes, shoes, jewellery and household goods.
It stands on land that belonged to a Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley. Hackney Council runs the outdoor market.
After the Second World War, Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists tried three times to march through Ridley Road.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4pm; closed on bank holidays except Good Friday.
Ridley Road, Dalston E8 · Free to walk round
More than 150 stalls opposite Dalston Kingsland station, Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 4pm: fruit and vegetables, fabric, clothes and household goods. Closed on bank holidays except Good Friday.
Plan a visitWell Street · the café
Well Street, South Hackney, near Victoria Park
The crew went back to Café Number One on Well Street for the fourth series, a place they had set up in the third.
A working café on a short high street of shops. Check it is open before you go.
Victoria Park · the bench
Victoria Park, between Hackney and Bow
The bench where Jamie and his brothers sit is in Victoria Park; the crew came back to it for the fourth series.
A public park. The bench is not marked; walk the paths.
Southwark · Stratford · the fourth series
Two places where the law catches up: a closed crown court south of the river, and a street by the Olympic pool in Stratford.
Pocock Street · the court
1–15 Pocock Street, Southwark, off Blackfriars Road
Some of the fourth series’ legal scenes were filmed in the disused court, which the location manager said would soon be redeveloped.
The crew’s base was on Pocock Street, with lighting stands on the pavement of Sawyer Street.
Built in the 1950s as a printworks for His Majesty’s Stationery Office, it opened as a crown court with nine courtrooms in 1993.
It closed on 20 December 2019. A plan of December 2020 would turn its roof into an urban forest.
A closed court awaiting redevelopment. See the outside from Pocock Street.
Pool Street · the stop
Pool Street, beside the London Aquatics Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
In the fourth series’ first episode, police stop a car driven by Dushane’s crew on Pool Street, by the Aquatics Centre.
A public street in the Olympic Park, by the Aquatics Centre.
Stratford
Live marketplace results for tours of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, where Pool Street runs past the Aquatics Centre. None is about the series.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursDuring the run, 2011–2023
Ronan Bennett created and wrote the series. Channel 4 showed two series; Drake, a fan, bought the rights and took it to Netflix, which made three more, with Drake as an executive producer. 5 series, 32 episodes in all.
Creator, broadcasters, Drake and Netflix, premieres, episodes, cast and roles.
9 places you can visit: four in Hackney, three in South London and two in East London, plus the Romford estate, which is not pinned because its exact blocks are not published. The estates are people’s homes: look from the street, and keep off the walkways and stairs.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A lived-in estate. Look from the canal towpath and the public streets around it.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4pm; closed on bank holidays except Good Friday.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working café on a short high street of shops. Check it is open before you go.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public park. The bench is not marked; walk the paths.
De Beauvoir Town, Hackney, beside the Regent’s Canal
The De Beauvoir Estate in Hackney is one of the two estates that doubled as Summerhouse in the third and fourth series, with the Samuda Estate.
A lived-in estate. Look from the canal towpath and the public streets around it.
Ridley Road, E8, opposite Dalston Kingsland station, off Kingsland High Street
The crew went back to Ridley Road for the fourth series, a place they had set up in the third.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4pm; closed on bank holidays except Good Friday.
Well Street, South Hackney, near Victoria Park
The crew went back to Café Number One on Well Street for the fourth series, a place they had set up in the third.
A working café on a short high street of shops. Check it is open before you go.
Victoria Park, between Hackney and Bow
The bench where Jamie and his brothers sit is in Victoria Park; the crew came back to it for the fourth series.
A public park. The bench is not marked; walk the paths.
Stay
A hotel between Hackney and the City.
81 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch
Not a filming location: 210 rooms at 81 Great Eastern Street, from Shoebox to Roomy, with Llama Inn on the roof. Booking direct gives free early check-in and late check-out and free cancellation until 2pm the day before. De Beauvoir, in the photograph, is a short bus ride north.
See the roomsGo there
Ridley Road six days a week, and walks round Hackney and the Olympic Park.
Ridley Road, Dalston E8 · Free to walk round
More than 150 stalls opposite Dalston Kingsland station, Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 4pm: fruit and vegetables, fabric, clothes and household goods. Closed on bank holidays except Good Friday.
Plan a visitHackney
Live marketplace results for walking tours of Hackney and East London. None is about the series.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursStratford
Live marketplace results for tours of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, where Pool Street runs past the Aquatics Centre. None is about the series.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
No screenings or events tied to the show are announced.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Take it home
Albums by two of the cast, from the year the show came back.
Kano · CD, 2019
Kano’s album of August 2019, released the month before the third series brought Sully back.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyLittle Simz · 12" vinyl, 2019
Little Simz’s album of March 2019, the year she joined the cast as Shelley.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, 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.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
10 of 10 places · 11 of 11 Moments
Walworth, by the Elephant and Castle; the site is now Elephant Park
The Heygate Estate plays the Summerhouse Estate in the Channel 4 series.
Loughborough Junction, Lambeth, between Brixton and Camberwell
The Loughborough Estate plays Summerhouse with the Heygate.
Manchester Road, Cubitt Town, Isle of Dogs
The Samuda Estate on the Isle of Dogs plays Summerhouse in the Netflix series.
De Beauvoir Town, Hackney, beside the Regent’s Canal
The De Beauvoir Estate doubles as Summerhouse in the third and fourth series.
Ridley Road, E8, opposite Dalston Kingsland station, off Kingsland High Street
The crew return to Ridley Road for the fourth series.
Well Street, South Hackney, near Victoria Park
The crew return to Café Number One on Well Street.
Victoria Park, between Hackney and Bow
Jamie and his brothers sit on a bench in Victoria Park.
1–15 Pocock Street, Southwark, off Blackfriars Road
The former Blackfriars Crown Court is used for the fourth series’ legal scenes.
The crew are based on Pocock Street to film inside the court, with lights on Sawyer Street.
Waterloo Road, Romford, Havering
The gang’s dealing flat is filmed in the emptied Waterloo Estate before demolition.
Pool Street, beside the London Aquatics Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Police stop a car driven by Dushane’s crew on Pool Street, in the fourth series’ first episode.
