Set Design

Go Behind the Scenes of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Production designer Dave Warren tells AD about creating a zombie war in the English countryside

By Elizabeth Stamp

Photography by Jay Maidment/Sony Pictures

February 4, 2016

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In the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice, the Bennet sisters find love in a time of zombies. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s best-selling novel and directed by Burr Steers, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sets the beloved story in the midst of a war between humans and the undead. Production designer Dave Warren was responsible for making several of England’s historic homes combat ready and creating a wasteland known as the “In Between.” One of his main tasks was finding homes that felt true to the class of the people who occupied them. “There was a very serious question of scale,” Warren says. “When was the house built? Was it the house of a gentleman farmer? Was it the house of a young millionaire? Those are the different character traits of the people who live in them, so Burr was quite clear on what he needed in terms of details.”
Here, Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and her sister Jane (Bella Heathcote) fight off a swarm of zombies at a dance.
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The Bennet house, Longbourn, combined several locations. The interiors were shot in a home near London. “It wasn’t set up as an 18th-century house, so we really had to dress it from the ground up,” Warren says. “We loved the quality of the interior: the beautiful paneled rooms and a beautiful great hall.”
Here, Parson Collins (Matt Smith) dines with the Bennet family.

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The bedrooms of Longbourn were decorated with materials and colors that reflect the Bennet sisters’ martial arts training in China. “The girls’ swords are all based on an antique Chinese sword that we got a hold of,” says Warren.
Here, Jane and Elizabeth prepare for the dance in their bedroom.
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“We had to add every stitch of furniture in the main hall of Longbourn because it wasn’t set up as a parlor where you can imagine a family sitting down to do needlepoint and clean their muskets,” Warren says.
Here, Steel and James prepare for a scene in the parlor at Longbourn.

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Basildon Park provided the exterior of Mr. Bingley’s residence, Netherfield Park. Austen fans may remember the historic home from its appearance in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, where it also stood in for Netherfield. During the research process, Warren viewed the previous adaptations. “I wanted to look at how detailed they were and what locations they used,” he says.
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The luxurious interiors of Netherfield were shot at Syon House, including in the striking marble atrium. “Mr Bingley is the rock star of the age,” says Warren. He’s young, he’s inherited tons of cash, and he’s rented the most upscale house he could find in beautiful parkland.”

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We really wanted to make it a massive shift when the Bennet sisters go to the Netherfield ball,” Warren says of the lavish interiors. “They’d only been to the country ball, and now they’ve seen money on a grander scale.”
Here, Elizabeth and Parson Collins encounter Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) at the ball.
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Hatfield House in Hertfordshire served as the location for Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s estate, Rosings.

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Just as Longbourn reflected the Bennet sisters’ training in China, the interiors of Rosings were influenced by Lady Catherine’s time in Japan. “The architecture obviously is English, so one doesn’t feel that there’s a Japanese fetish going on with her,” says Warren. “It’s tricky because you have to put all those suits of armor and ephemera into an English house. You don’t want it to look like a mad collector. The Japanese influence was quite subtle in some places, just in the choice of color and things like that.”
Here, Lady Catherine (Lena Headey) takes afternoon tea.
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“Burr had already come with certain ideas of what England does to keep the zombies out and how it affects the various socioeconomic classes in the country,” says Warren. If you’re very rich, you can keep the zombies out, but if you’re poor, you have to take your chances. It’s a social comment.” The zombie wasteland known as the “In Between” was filmed in Frensham, an area outside London that was devastated by a fire in 2010. “Even a couple of years ago it hadn’t recovered,” Warren says. “It was still very windswept.”
Here, Elizabeth goes into the “In Between” to save her sister Lydia.

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St. Lazarus, a haven for peaceful zombies, was shot at a church northwest of London. The production team added railings and overgrown grass to the exterior and built an altar inside.