Spoiler Warning: This posts contains some major spoilers for Slow Horses Season 1 to 3. Continue at your own risk;-)
We recently discovered the fantastic Spy Series ‘Slow Horses’, which follows a bunch of MI5 Agents who screwed up at their job and were delegated to the depressing, dead-end Slough House division. Despite all this, the group of rejects under the direction of misanthropic Jackson Lamb (played hilariously by Gary Oldman) more often than not ends up saving the day.
Based on the ‘Slough House’ series of novels by Mick Herron, the show is set mostly around London. On my recent visit to the city, I accidentally stumbled on one of the filming locations and decided to subsequently seek out a few more and share them with you guys.
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Guided Tours of the ‘Slow Horses’ Locations
Due to the popularity of the show, guided tours to some of the filming locations are now available. If you’re interested, you can check them out here:
The Filming Locations of ‘Slow Horses’
The show is shot mostly on location, so there are many parts of London and its surroundings that feature in the episodes. I’ve decided to focus on locations in the city that either appear regularly, or where something significant happens in the show.
Slough House and its Surroundings
As the workplace of the slow horses, this is arguably the most important location in the show. The building regularly shown in the series is on 128 Aldersgate near the Barbican Estate in the City. To get there, just exit the Barbican Tube Station and follow Aldersgate Street north to the next intersection.
Interestingly, there is not too much TV magic going on when it comes to scenes taking place in the surroundings of Slough House, which are often filmed in the direct vicinity. For instance, the ugly concrete towers of Barbican Estate itself features heavily in the introduction shots of many episodes.
For instance, River meets a seemingly desperate Spider on the pedestrian-crossing leading from the tube station to the Barbican in the second Episode of Season 3.
In the same episode, Shirley and Marcus follow (and lose) a suspect through the East Passage Alleyway and past the Old Red Cow Pub just across Long Lane from the station (although they magically appear near St. Paul’s Cathedral at the end).
Finally, Lamb meets an old associate at Barbican Launderette, just around the corner from Slough House. Again, this is mirrored in reality, as the place in question can be found on White Lyon Court just across Aldersgate. If you follow the street north from Slough House, you’ll have to turn right twice at the first opportunity to find it.
Lamb’s and Taverner’s Secret Bench
This is the place, I stumbled across accidentally, which started this whole post. Lamb and MI5 Deputy Director Diana Taverner regularly meet to trade information and insults, and make some shady deals in the process.
While they meet in different places, they mostly find themselves on a park bench an overlooking Regent’s Canal. The bench sits at the portion of the canal flowing past London Zoo, close to St. Mark’s Church.
Lamb complains about the canal being too clean now, although I have to say that I’m glad to have found neither oil drums nor corpses floating here 😂. Instead, you can visit the spot as part of a pleasant stroll from King’s Cross to Regent’s Park.
Blake’s Grave
When the Horses are being framed and chased by the MI5 at the end of season 1, Lamb sets up an emergency meeting at William Blake’s grave. The poet’s and painter’s final resting place can be found at Bunhill Fields Burial Ground in Islington (again not too far from the Barbican).
Blake’s grave marker is in the eastern part of the graveyard, overshadowed by the obelisk marking the tomb of Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe. The group actually meets on the other side of the Burial Ground, though: Min and Louisa hide behind the tomb of Dame Mary Page, when Lamb and Standish arrive.
The little graveyard with its atmospherically tilted and overgrown headstones is worth visiting in its own right, and apart from Blake and Defoe, you’ll also find the tomb of 17th-century writer John Bunyan (The Pilgrim’s Progress). I also found it to be a nice quiet oasis in between the traffic-ridden streets of the City.
Anti-Capitalist Protest
The protest that’s the target for the Code September attack is being held on Bank Junction in the heart of the City. Taverner and Judd are standing in the Collonade Royal Exchange Building, while the protesters fill the square. The Bank tube station is just around the corner.
St. Leonard Church
Spoiler Warning: I’m aware that I gave one at the beginning, but huge spoilers follow, so proceed with caution. You’ve been warned.
The little church in which the horses hold Min’s funeral at the end of Season 2 is called St. Leonard in the show, but is actually St. Michael’s Church on Cornhill, just a minute’s walk east of Bank Junction.
Inside, the Horses add a plaque for Min on a wall commemorating agents who died in service. You won’t be surprised to hear that the plaques don’t exist in real life, but the wall where they put them can be found to the left of the altar.
Map of the Slow Horses Filming Locations
I’ve marked all the places I’ve detailed above in this map of London, so you, too, can follow in Jackson Lamb’s footsteps.
See Also
Visiting Leadenhall Market in London – Filming Location for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter
Visiting the Filming Locations of the BBC’s Death in Paradise in Deshaies, Guadeloupe
Exploring the Filming Locations of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in Venice, Italy