Young Sherlock Filming Locations in Oxford
I squealed a little when the trailer for Young Sherlock dropped, and I realised that much of the show is set at the University of Oxford and filmed on location.
Within seconds, I recognised some of Oxford’s most iconic landmarks, including the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, and Magdalen College.
Naturally, I immediately sped through the first few episodes (the ones set in Oxford) to see how many filming locations I could spot.
Oxford is a city I know incredibly well (and one I absolutely love), so seeing its streets and colleges on screen is always exciting.
Here’s my guide to the main Young Sherlock filming locations in Oxford, and where you can find them in real life.
Please note there are some light spoilers ahead to help contextualise each location.
The Radcliffe Camera
The opening credits of Young Sherlock begin with a sweeping landscape shot of the Radcliffe Camera – one of Oxford’s most recognisable buildings.
Part of the wider Bodleian Library complex, the Radcliffe Camera was built in the 18th century and now serves as a library for students.
After getting Sherlock out of prison, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft proudly declares:
“I’ve secured you a place at Oxford. Arguably the greatest university in the world.”
And in my totally unbiased opinion… he’s not wrong.
Oxford is an extraordinarily beautiful place to study.
Wandering those ancient streets, studying in historic libraries, and cycling between centuries-old colleges is an experience unlike anywhere else.
Ok, maybe it’s a little like Cambridge.
But, shh… we don’t talk about that place.
Merton Street
One of the first real Oxford locations you see is Merton Street, which appears several times in the opening episodes, if you look carefully.
This historic street runs between several Oxford colleges and definitely captures the Oxford ‘vibe’, with cobbled paving and medieval stone buildings.
It’s seen early on when Sherlock and Mycroft arrive in Oxford, as they trundle on their way in a carriage.
Later, Sherlock and Moriarty walk down the same street after a nighttime investigation.
If you look carefully, you can even spot the back entrance to Christ Church in the background – my alma mater.
Merton Street also appears again when Sherlock is arrested and led away from the college.
The cart carrying him heads down Merton Street towards the High Street, and you can catch glimpses of the street through the cart’s windows.
Magdalen College
Magdalen is one of the most beautiful and most famous Oxford colleges, so I’m not surprised they chose this as the Candlin College filming location for Young Sherlock.
Lots of the college’s facilities are used in the Amazon Prime series, so you’ll definitely want to add this college to your Oxford itinerary if you’re a fan of the series.
And if you think any of this college looks familiar, it’s because it’s also a Saltburn filming location in Oxford.
St John’s Quad (Magdalen College)
Many of the Oxford scenes take place at Magdalen College, particularly in St John’s Quad. This beautiful quadrangle appears numerous times in the early episodes, with the cloisters visible in the background.
The cloisters are one of my favourite parts of Magdalen, and, indeed, Oxford. It’s a beautiful space with historic corridors surrounding lush greenery, and if you poke your head out, you can see Magdalen Tower towering above.
When Mycroft and Sherlock arrive at Candlin College (aka Magdalen College in real life), Sherlock learns a rather unfortunate truth: he hasn’t been enrolled as a student at Oxford University at all.
Instead, he’s been employed as a scout.
If you’re unfamiliar with Oxford terminology, scouts are the cleaners who look after student rooms in colleges.
The role is still very much part of Oxford University life today, and frankly, scouts don’t get nearly enough credit.
They often end up cleaning rooms while students are still passed out in bed after a night out… so I can only imagine the things they’ve seen over the years.
Seeing Young Sherlock working as a scout is honestly one of the funniest parts of the show.
Magdalen Hall
We’re first introduced to Colin Firth’s character, Sir Bucephalus Hodge (what a name!), in Magdalen College’s Hall.
This grand dining hall appears several times in the first few episodes and is lined with impressive portraits of past figures connected to the college.
I’m fortunate enough to have had breakfast in this hall several times and can confirm it is just as grand and beautiful in real life.
Hodge and Mycroft are enjoying dinner at high table when Young Sherlock appears as the waiter for the evening. Rather amusingly, he dons a cockney accent to ‘disguise’ himself and to tease his brother.
It’s also here that Mycroft sits down with Hodge over breakfast and asks for help getting Sherlock out of trouble, only to be told that keeping him imprisoned may actually be more convenient.
The plot thickens!
In that same sequence, Moriarty is dramatically expelled when Hodge refuses to reinstate his scholarship.
There is, however, one small inaccuracy in these scenes.
Some students are shown sitting in the hall wearing mortar boards (the black square caps with tassels), but at Oxford, you normally only wear those once you’ve graduated.
You definitely wouldn’t be sitting at breakfast wearing both a gown and a mortar board!
Gowns do sometimes appear at formal hall dinners, but even then, mortar boards are never part of the equation.
Magdalen College Cloisters
Another memorable sequence takes place in the Magdalen cloisters, where Sherlock runs through the arches searching for Moriarty.
At one point, he runs up a staircase that, in reality, leads to the Magdalen library. In the show, however, it leads to Moriarty’s room, which was likely built on a set.
The interiors of the cloisters appear in a number of scenes, including when Mycroft speaks to the police, and later when Sherlock and Moriarty pretend to be police and are questioned by the detective.
New Building (Magdalen College)
We also see the exterior of Magdalen’s New Building, a somewhat amusing name considering the building is now centuries old.
Here, Mycroft and Hodge walk across the quad discussing an upcoming gala. Hodge mentions that he wants a statue larger than those of kings and queens.
This same building later becomes the site of a dramatic explosion, with its stone façade blackened and scorched in the aftermath.
Just before the bomb goes off, Moriarty delivers one of the show’s best lines:
“For God’s sake, would you stop being so English… there’s a bomb!”
High Street Gate (Magdalen College)
Princess Gulun Shou’an is seen entering through this gate on Longwall.
This historic gate dates back to the Victorian era, and the three statues on it are Bishop William Waynflete (founder of Magdalen College), Saint Mary Magdalen, and Saint Swithin.
Magdalen College Chapel
Magdalen College Chapel is where it is revealed that Princess Gulun Shou’an is actually a baddie and wanted Hodge’s party to go awry.
It’s a stunning chapel with an enormous organ at one end and, as explained by Princess Gulun, 26 characters from the Hebrew Bible (the numerical value of Jehovah) on the other. Ornately carved dark wood pews flank either side of the chapel.
The Bodleian Library
The Divinity School
At this point in the series, the geography of Oxford gets a little… creative.
Sherlock walks up to what appears to be a maths lecture at Candlin College, but the shots of him outside the lecture hall are actually filmed in the Divinity School.
Part of the Bodleian Library complex, the Divinity School is famous for its spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling.
It’s also one of Oxford’s most popular filming locations, and has appeared in countless films and TV shows, including in several Harry Potter scenes filmed in Oxford (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
Convocation House
The maths lecture scene is filmed inside Convocation House, which was formerly a meeting chamber for the House of Commons during the English Civil War, and again later in the 1660s and 1680s. It adjoins the Divinity School and was added it to around 200 years after it was first build.
Duke Humfrey’s Library
One of my absolute favourite Oxford libraries appears during a dramatic sequence: Duke Humfrey’s Library, also part of the Bodleian Library.
Sherlock befriends Moriarty and the two sneak into a lavish party, which quickly goes wrong. When they flee the chaos, they are seen running outside the Bodleian Library before eventually ending up inside Duke Humfrey’s Library.
This historic reading room has appeared in many films over the years and was famously used in the early Harry Potter film series. It’s where Hermione figures out who Nicholas Flammel is.
However, in Young Sherlock, this is where a mysterious Chinese scroll is stored.
Moriarty suggests Sherlock should steal it for the money, but Sherlock refuses, valuing his freedom more.
Naturally, the next morning the scroll has disappeared.
Sherlock and Moriarty later return to investigate what happened, though eagle-eyed viewers might notice some decorative additions to the library. A bust on a plinth was added to the end of each row of bookshelves, which do not exist in real life.
The scenes where Sherlock and Moriarty are investigating the theft and the broken window switch between the real-life Duke Humfrey’s Library and a set.
Production designer Tom Burton confirmed that parts of the library were recreated on a set because the real Duke Humfrey’s Library, a historic and protected space, couldn’t be used for certain scenes.
As he explained:
“We matched a section of The Bodleian Library on the stage with elements that we needed to have for the action and story, as obviously you can’t climb on their bookcases; make holes in their walls or create secret passageways. So getting the joins between location and sets was the main challenge.”
So while some scenes were filmed in the real Duke Humfrey’s Library, others were carefully rebuilt in the studio, for example, the close-up scenes featuring the broken window.
Corpus Christi College Entrance
Corpus Cristi is one of Oxford University’s smaller colleges, located directly next to the back entrance of Christ Church on Merton Street.
In episode 2, Moriarty and Sherlock stand outside the entrance, discussing how they’re going to track down the figures in the photograph Shu’an burned, when a young gentleman comes out of the entrance to offer them his assistance.
I recognised this part of Oxford instantly, as I used to walk up and down this street literally every single day when I was a student there!
Visiting the Young Sherlock Filming Locations in Oxford
The wonderful thing about these locations is that most of them are easy to visit.
The Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library exterior, and Merton Street are all freely accessible while exploring Oxford’s historic centre.
Magdalen College requires an entry fee, but it’s absolutely worth visiting. The cloisters, quads, and dining hall make it one of the most beautiful colleges in Oxford.
How to Visit Magdalen College
Address: Magdalen College, Oxford, OX1 4AU
Opening Hours: Vary by season.
Jan – June: 1pm to dusk or 6pm, whichever is earlier
June – Oct: 10am to dusk or 7pm, whichever is earlier
Oct – Dec: 1pm to dusk or 6pm, whichever is earlier
Price: £10 adults, £9 concessions, £28 family ticket
Check the website for any updates.
Website: www.magd.ox.ac.uk
How to Visit the Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library is a working library and one of the most popular for Oxford University students. The interiors are therefore not open to the public, but certain reading rooms can be visited as part of a group tour.
Due to limited availability, these often sell out, so booking in advance is strongly advised. There are a number of different tour options which will allow you to visit the Divinity School, Duke Humfrey’s Library and the interior of Radcliffe Camera, or a combination of these.
If you’re a fan of Young Sherlock, visiting these filming locations is a fantastic way to experience the world of the show in real life.
And if you already love Oxford, spotting its famous buildings on screen just makes the series even more fun to watch.
Young Sherlock is available on Amazon Prime now
FAQs
Where was Young Sherlock filmed?
Young Sherlock was filmed in several locations across the UK and Europe. Many of the early episodes were shot on location in Oxford, England, using real buildings from the University of Oxford, such as the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, and Magdalen College. Additional scenes were filmed in Bristol in southwest England. Some sequences were also shot in Spain.
Alongside these real-world locations, certain interiors were recreated on studio sets so the production team could film action scenes that wouldn’t be possible inside historic buildings.
Was Young Sherlock actually filmed in Oxford?
Yes, many scenes in Young Sherlock were genuinely filmed in Oxford. Locations such as Magdalen College, the Bodleian Library, Duke Humfrey’s Library, and Merton Street all appear in the show.
Was the Bodleian Library used in Young Sherlock?
Yes, parts of the Bodleian Library appear in Young Sherlock. In particular, Duke Humfrey’s Library, one of the Bodleian’s historic reading rooms, is where the Chinese scroll is stored and later stolen from. As the real library is historic, some sequences were recreated on a purpose-built set designed to match the original location.
Can you visit the Young Sherlock filming locations in real life?
Yes, many of the filming locations used in Young Sherlock can be visited in real life.
The Radcliffe Camera and streets like Merton Street are located in central Oxford and can easily be seen while exploring the city. Magdalen College allows visitors to enter for a fee, and the interior of the Bodleian Library can be visited as part of a tour.
When was Young Sherlock filmed?
Filming for Young Sherlock took place between July 2024 and February 2025.
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