22  BATH CHRONICLE THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2021
Fraudsters con
Film crew back
at Bridgerton
location in city
Bridgerton are reportedly back and
filming season two in Bath.
The Holburne Museum, which
doubles as Lady Danbury’s home, was
busy with film crews all day last Friday.
A source told the Chronicle’s
website Bath Live that it is Bridgerton
filming at the museum, despite trucks
being marked up with ‘Waterloo’.
It is understood ‘Waterloo’ is a code
name for the hit Netflix show, which
has been watched by as many as 82
million households and put Bath on the
map for a whole new audience.
The stunning Grade I listed building’s
exterior is seen in all but one episode
of season one so its no surprise film
crews would need to return.
Traffic was affected by the crew as
part of the A36 at the bottom of
Sydney Place opposite the museum
was closed off.
The front of the museum was
cordoned off by a large screen which
shielded any activity inside.
Bath Live has been told that actors
were not on set as the crew were
purely filming exterior shots.
Security around the museum was
CAZ’s forcing big lorries
onto out street - resident
Imogen McGuckin
imogen.mcguckin@reachplc.com
A man has expressed his con-
cern about the number of lor-
ries using his road since the
Bath Clean Air Zone began.
Julian Broad, 57, lives on Old
Newbridge Hill on the west side of
Bath and said heavy goods traffic
had been worse since the “very first
day” of the new scheme.
Some HGVs can be charged £100
a day to enter the zone and Mr
Broad said they were now using the
Hill as a link between the Upper
and Lower Bristol Roads.
He said: “It’s not just vans, it’s
massive lorries too and they simply
shouldn’t be coming down this
way, it’s just dangerous for pedes-
trians.
“When articulated lorries are
coming down the hill, very little
else can come up. There is a 7.5-
tonne limit sign at the bottom of
the Hill, but the one at the top of the
road is missing.”
He added: “There are loads of
kids using the Hill to walk up to
Oldfield School from the buses at
8am and back again at 3pm.
“These kids they’re on the phone
while they’re walking, they’ve just
woken up and they’re crossing
roads with this heavy goods traffic.”
Mr Broad added that his 10-year-
old son walked to school and had
one day found the pavement
blocked by a tractor and trailer.
“He had to walk in the road to get
Film crews pictured near The Holburne Museum, which doubles as Lady Danbury’s home in Bridgerton
tight to stop any avid fans from
glimpsing too much.
Spencer Hancock, who works for the
Holburne Museum, has already said
what it was like to have the cast and
crew film at the Bath landmark for
season one, saying Rege-Jean Page
“liked to stay in character between
takes”.
According to Tom Crudgington, a
boxing trainer from Bath, the star was
“charming” as he had boxing lessons in
the city ahead of filming.
Season two won’t feature the actor
though, as it will be focusing on
Anthony Bridgerton, played by
Julian Broad is concerned about HGVs using Old Newbridge Hill in Bath
around it - no child should have to
do that,” Mr Broad said.
Old Newbridge Hill is a narrow
residential road, with on-street
parking for residents. To turn onto
it from the Bristol direction, drivers
must negotiate a sharp corner. Mr
Broad said the turn had caused
issues for the extra HGV traffic from
the “very first day” of the new zone.
Jonathan Bailey, in his quest to find a
wife, as seen in the second novel of
Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved
Me.
Back in January, production
company Shondaland confirmed that
there would be a season two, three and
four after the phenomenal success of
season one which focused on Daphne
Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and the
Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page).
Many locations across Bath were
used for season one like The Guildhall,
The Assembly Rooms, Beauford
Square, Trim Street, Bath Street and at
the Royal Crescent.
“The council have put two bol-
lards in to stop them mounting the
kerb because there are a lot of
pedestrians. They were both
knocked down by a lorry on the
very first day of the Clean Air Zone.
“Particularly just before school,
this road is a line of traffic and if you
get an HGV coming, what with
parking the way it is, it fills the
When it was filming in 2019, Bath
Live regularly covered film crews being
out and about, but little did anyone
know how much of a global hit the
show would become.
It is expected that there may be
something of a tourism boom post
lockdown as fans visit the many filming
locations across the city.
Already several walking tours of
Bridgerton filming locations have
sprung up across the city offering fans
a ‘behind the scenes’ experience.
The Holburne Museum, Netflix and
Shondaland have been approached for
comment.
whole road up,” Mr Broad said.
He urged other residents who
had experienced the issue to make
their feelings known to Bath and
North East Somerset Council. The
council has been contacted for
comment.
Have you been affected by the
Bath Clean Air Zone? Email imo-
gen.mcguckin@reachplc.com.
more than £2m
out of victims
Bank account fraudsters conned
victims out of £2.3million in the
Avon & Somerset Police area
throughout the pandemic, new fig-
ures reveal.
Crooks used lockdown to target
vulnerable residents and trick them
into handing over personal details
and cash.
Data obtained from the National
Fraud Intelligence Bureau found
that 571 residents in the region
were victims of online bank fraud
or the use of payment cards and
cheques that were stolen, forged or
cloned between April 2020 and
March this year.
It places Avon & Somerset 15th
worst out of 44 forces in the country
for finance fraud and cost each of
those targeted in the area an aver-
age of £4,028.
The figures were analysed by
MoneyTransfers.com which has
issued four top tips to safeguard
your money.
■■ Stay vigilant and keep a close eye
on monthly bank statements to
spot any unusual activity, as well as
shredding any sensitive financial
documents.
■■ Avoid public wifi hotspots such
as coffee shops and libraries to
access online banking.
■■ Take precautions and only
access online banking via your
bank provider’s official website,
and use the bank’s official app
when using mobile banking.
■■ Have strong credentials by mak-
ing your online banking password
as sophisticated as possible.
Actors hoping to
raise the roof
The Mission Theatre is appealing
for a business or person to help
with their roof appeal fundraising.
The Bath theatre needs to raise
£110,000 in total to fix and replace
the roof of the 250-year-old, Grade-
II listed theatre.
Both the flat roof and the main
slate pitched roof are showing large
cracks and are in need of replace-
ment.
The theatre has so far raised
£36,000 with £20,000 of that com-
ing from resident drama company
Next Stage.
It has been nearly two months
since the fundraising began and
artistic director Ann Ellison has
said that it is harder to raise money
as the theatre is not able to put on
events and shows due to Covid.
She said: “What we would love at
this stage is for some angel and
lover of performing arts, some mar-
vellous biz entrepreneur to step out
of the wings at this point.
“We are, however, opening next
week with The Memory of Water
and at every performance we will
be reminding people of our appeal.”
The theatre is also in the process
of putting in a bid to the National
Lottery Fund.
To donate to the appeal, go to
https://missiontheatre.squares-
pace.com/raise-the-roof.