the real-life filming locations behind the Netflix detective adventure, Canada Reviews

Enola Holmes is back – and she’s getting hitched.

We blinked and Millie Bobby Brown’s teenage sleuth is now a 21-year-old amateur detective ready to tie the knot with raffish aristocrat Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). But with old foes at large and old allies proving to be a pain in the pantaloons, the path of true love will not be running smoothly.

With an exciting new director calling the shots in Adolescence and Boiling Point’s Philip Barantini and the historic island of Malta as the setting, Enola Holmes 3 sees the hit Netflix film franchise expanding beyond Nancy Springer’s YA book series to introduce Enola to some very grown-up perils.

With some help from Adolescence writer Jack Thorne, Barantini has promised to do for Enola Holmes what Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban did for the Harry Potter series and go darker. At least, as dark as you can go in the sun-drenched Mediterranean.

We spoke to supervising location manager Tom Howard to find out where it all came together.

What is Enola Holmes 3 about?

‘Enola is now grown-up, she’s about to get married, and there’s an opportunity to make the film a little bit more grown-up, a bit darker, more scary,’ says Barantini of the set-up for part 3.

‘If the first two films are about Enola’s first name,’ adds Thorne, ‘… this third film is about her second name, about being a Holmes, and specifically about the notion of losing that name in getting married.’

So, yes, marriage is on the cards – in Malta, where Lord Tewkesbury’s mum and dad once got hitched – but things are quickly coming off the rails. Enola is torn by the prospect, and the sudden disappearance of her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) spills into a conspiracy involving the British Empire, an old adversary, missing treasure and the odd Maltese independence fighter. It’s Enola’s The Maltese Falcon and the game, as they say, is afoot…

Who stars in the movie?

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill return as feisty sibling sleuths – as does Helena Bonham Carter as their mum Eudoria, and Louis Partridge as Enola’s fiancé Tewkesbury. Himesh Patel is back as the valiant Dr Watson.

Joining them are Hattie Morahan (The Gilded Age) as Tewkesbury’s mum, WIA’s Jason Watkins as a British brigadier who knows more than he’s letting on, and Sex Education’s Sharon Duncan-Brewster as anagrammatic villain Mira Troy. Joe Azzopardi plays Maltese revolutionary Mikiel Mizzi.

Where was Enola Holmes 3 filmed?

The storied island of Malta, a hundred or so miles from Sicily, has seen more than its fair share of history – and historical epics. With its architecture, weathered fortresses, harbour and spectacular seascapes, it’s played host to dozens of Hollywood productions, from Gladiator to Game of Thrones.

It fit the bill perfectly for Enola Holmes 3, says supervising locations manager Tom Howard. ‘Because Enola is set in Victorian times, we needed somewhere with a historical look – and we had Valletta, the landscapes, the old forts and the other places where you’re transported back 120 years. The architecture is stunning and there are layers of history.’

Enola’s aborted wedding was filmed at Malta’s St Paul’s Cathedral

The film opens with Tewkesbury anxiously waiting by the altar of this 12th century cathedral in Mdina. According to tradition, it’s on this site that St Paul met the Roman governor after his shipwreck on the island. Crushingly for Tewkesbury, he will not be meeting his bride-to-be here. ‘We were only in there for 24 hours because it’s a major tourist spot,’ says Howards. Visitors can take in Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà’s masterwork – and its two Caravaggio masterpieces, ‘The Beheading of St John the Baptist’ and ‘St Jerome Writing’ – for €15. 

📍 How to visit the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul

The Maltese hotel is Villa Bologna in central Malta

Enola stays in the fictional Hotel Cornelisse during her stay in Malta – at least, until disaster comes knocking. The hotel is actually this 18th century country house in central Malta, famous for its recently restored baroque Maltese gardens, which also feature in the film. The owners welcome visitors for tours of the citrus orchards and immaculate lawns – contact them ahead of time.

📍Contact the villa for info on tours and visiting

The carriage chase and beach scenes were filmed on Malta’s west coast

A few key scenes were filmed across the island on the west coast, including the carriage chase that reintroduces Dr Watson, and Enola and Tewkesbury’s trip to the beach. ‘The beaches in Malta are very, very busy in June, so we used a private beach,’ says Howard. ‘We had to keep our actors cool with tents as they’re all in Victorian gear.’

The tunnels sequences were filmed at Fort Ricasoli and Fort Manoel

An explosive encounter with an old Holmes adversary was filmed in the 17th century fortress of Fort Ricasoli – once the Great Sept of Baelor in Game of Thrones, as well as films from Troy to Napoleon – which is not open to the public. ‘We also used Fort Manoel, which is on the island to the north of Valletta. In the script they’re sewers.’

Enola chases the British sergeant through the back streets of Mdina

The tiny hilltop Maltese town of Mdina is entirely car-free, earning it the nickname ‘the Silent City’. It was used as the location for King’s Landing in the first season of Game of Thrones (Croatia’s Dubrovnik took over in season 2) and more devilry unfolds here in Enola Holmes 3 when Enola clocks a suspicious soldier and chases him through its ancient alleys and palazzos. 

📍 Where to stay in Mdina  

The carnival was filmed in Valletta

The Maltese capital’s carnival provides a colourful backdrop for another slice of Enola sleuthing. ‘We took over a set of streets in Valletta, working with a local society to add their carnival materials,’ says Howard. ‘We took the cars away, put down some sand over the tarmac and added few old shopfronts.’

The army HQ in Malta was filmed at St. John’s Seminary in Surrey

‘It’s been empty for about three years and we were able to put in some money in to keep it safe and dry,’ says Howard of the Guildford seminary that doubles as the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery building. It’s here that Enola, Eudoria and the gang break in to pursue a hunch. ‘We used a couple of rooms there for the brigadier’s office and the records office,’ says Howard. ‘It has an amazing long corridor in a very formal architectural style.’

The Tewkesburys’ ancestral home is Hertfordshire’s Hatfield House

Earnest Augustus Tewkesbury and his mother hail from Basilwether Hall. As in the previous films, the ancestral pile is actually Hatfield House, once Elizabeth I’s girlhood home and the location for Tim Burton’s Batman – though not at the same time. The famous chequered marble floor of the Marble Hall is in full effect in a scene where Enola and Lady Tewkesbury work through the wedding guest list.

📍 How to visit Hatfield House

Hampton Court House was used as the interior of Hotel Cornelisse

Enola’s pre-wedding banquet inside Hotel Cornelisse was filmed at a school adjacent to Hampton Court in Surrey. ‘We managed to squeeze our shoot into a half term,’ says Howard. ‘There’s also montage sequence with Enola and Tewkesbury in their new [London] house, and that was one of my finds: Southside house on Wimbledon Common. It dates back to Jacobean times.’

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