Confirmed · Chatham and Medway · Museum
The Historic Dockyard Chatham
Poplar's streets, docks, maternity home and hospital in Call the Midwife. Tickets needed; allow 90-minute tour; 4 to 6 hours with the museum.
- On screen as
- Poplar's streets, docks, maternity home and hospital
- Series and episodes
- Series 1 · Series 2 · Series 3 · Series 4 · Series 5 · Series 6 · Series 7 · Series 8 · Series 9 · Series 10 · Series 11 · Series 12 · Series 13 · Series 14 · Series 15 · Series 11, Episode 1 · Series 15, Episode 1
- Access
- Tickets needed
- Time needed
- 90-minute tour; 4 to 6 hours with the museum
- Where
- Chatham, Kent
On screen
How The Historic Dockyard Chatham appears
Almost every outdoor Poplar scene starts here. The Kent Film Office lists the dockyard across all fifteen series. The Fitted Rigging House plays the Lisbon Buildings tenement and the Rakesby Street homeless shelter. The Admiral's Offices are the exterior of the Poplar Maternity Home and the London Hospital. Anchor Wharf and the dockyard railway are Poplar's docks and trains, the Victorian Ropery shows rope makers at work and its cellars, and the Tarred Yarn Store has been a boxing ring, a Chinese laundry and a derelict building. HMS Cavalier played a Russian ship, the Commissioner's House gardens hosted an engagement, the Sail and Colour Loft was the building site where bones are found in series 11, and the Royal Dockyard Church was a graveyard (series 11) and the Board of Health (series 15).
The real place
What you can visit
The story is set in London's East End; the real place is a working heritage museum on the River Medway, with warships, galleries and some of the best-preserved naval buildings in Britain. The official Call the Midwife location tour was created with Neal Street Productions and is the dockyard's only official tour. It takes about 90 minutes, includes same-day museum entry and runs from spring to autumn; book ahead and check current prices on the dockyard's site. The guide points out the Grosvenor Hotel street and the slope used for Chummy's cycling lesson, then finishes in a gallery of original props, costumes and preserved sets. Set dressing is removed after filming, and interiors such as the Fitted Rigging House or Tarred Yarn Store are not always open.
Stay with your guide and keep to signed routes: some buildings are offices or event spaces, and filming areas are closed when the crew is in.
Kent Film Office: Call the Midwife series 1 to 15 ↗Use the main visitor entrance on Western Avenue (ME4 4TY), where parking is free. Chatham station is a 35 to 40 minute walk, or take a bus from the St George's Centre. The tour is wheelchair friendly but covers uneven cobbles and setts, so ask for access help when booking. The dockyard has published closure days within its season, so check the calendar before you travel.
Gallery
More views of The Historic Dockyard Chatham
Common questions
Planning a responsible visit
Which building is the Poplar Maternity Home?
The Kent Film Office names the Admiral's Offices as the exterior of both the Maternity Home and the London Hospital. The clinical rooms you see are filmed elsewhere, so the tour shows you the outside only.
Do I need the tour, or is a museum ticket enough?
A general ticket lets you walk the dockyard and see many of the buildings, but the official tour is the only way to have each filming spot pointed out, and it includes the gallery of preserved sets and same-day entry.
Will the streets look like Poplar when I visit?
Not usually. The production dresses the streets for each shoot and strips them afterwards, so you see the real dockyard. The tour's gallery holds original props and sets instead.
Which episodes were filmed here?
The dockyard appears across all fifteen series. The Kent Film Office ties two episodes to specific buildings: series 11, episode 1 (Sail and Colour Loft and the church graveyard) and series 15, episode 1 (the church as the Board of Health).
Plan your visit
Build it into the day.
A walk along Chatham's riverside, used in series 13, then supper in Rochester or Chatham Maritime.
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