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Blockbuster Filming Locations

Make your own adventure reliving the magic from major blockbuster films.

Durham Cathedral on screen

Over the years, we've welcomed film crews to Durham Cathedral, often the perfect location for everything from documentaries to blockbuster films.

Notably, various locations across the cathedral were used in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Avengers: Endgame.

The Cloister

These secluded walkways were used as the filming location for scenes of Harry, Ron and Hermione walking between lessons in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. At the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the scene where Harry frees Dobby the House Elf was filmed on a set that is an almost identical replica of Durham Cathedral's Cloister.

Did you know?

Filch the Caretaker is often seen with a set of big old-fashioned keys as he prowls the school looking for mischief. While filming at Durham Cathedral, an actual set of Durham Cathedral's keys were used as props.

What is a Cloister?

A cloister is a covered walkway. Originally they were built for the Benedictine monks who lived and worshipped in the monastic priory here.

There would have been glazing and the monks would exercise, teach and study within the walls. This continued until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.

The Nave

The Nave was used in Avengers: Endgame, in the scene where Thor travels back in time and visits his Asgard.

You can see the checked floor of the crossing from above, as Thor's mother and her ladies walk across it, and our famous columns feature as Thor hides behind them.

The Cloister Garth

This is the name for the square of grass in the middle of the Cloister. It featured, generously dusted in fake snow, in a wintery scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, when Harry released his pet owl Hedwig for a flight around Hogwarts Castle.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Cloister Garth was the setting for the famous scene when Ron's 'eat slugs' curse backfires.

The Galilee Chapel

The Galilee Chapel along the western side of the cathedral features as one of the rooms in the Asgard palace in Avengers: Endgame.

The view might look a little different in the film, as the crews laid a green screen across one of the walls, editing it to appear as a window overlooking Asgard.

Image Credit: Marvel Studios

The Chapter House

The Chapter House was used as the filming location for Professor Minerva McGonagall's classroom in the first two Harry Potter films. Dame Maggie Smith's character led Transfiguration lessons that saw the young students attempt to turn animals into goblets.

This location is currently open to the public, from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. Some dates are excluded due to being used for services and events.

Meet a movie star!

Here be dragons! This marvellous inkwell, carved with owls and wyverns, is part of Durham Cathedral's collections and was used as part of the set of Professor McGonagall's classroom from the first two Harry Potter films, parts of which were shot at Durham Cathedral. See the inkwell's carved detail up close in this video.

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Badger meets Rocket

Did you know?

The crew and cast from Avengers: Endgame used a model of Rocket Racoon, voiced in editing by Bradley Cooper. Here you can see him meeting Badger, Dean Andrew Tremlett's cat in the Cloister.

Image Credit: Marvel Studios

Plan your visit

Find opening times and other useful information to plan a visit to Durham Cathedral. Learn about the cathedral's history and the remarkable saints buried here, browse gifts in the Shop and enjoy a delicious bite to eat in the Undercroft Restaurant.

Start your enchanting adventure