The ITV soap was first aired on October 16, 1972, and was originally filmed in the real-life village of Arncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales before it was moved to Esholt in West Yorkshire.
After 22 years, the production moved to the Harewood estate, where a duplicate of Esholt was built, after the village became too busy to film due to congestion and disruption resulting from visits from fans of the soap who were hoping to sneak a peek at the soap’s characters in action and locations.
These images show the Emmerdale set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside.
These images show the Emmerdale set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside.
5. Emmerdale set in Yorkshire
The set also has its own phone lines, sanitation and a high-tech security system, despite the fact that it has no foundations or permanent structures. Photo: Lizzie Shepherd / ITV Studios / PA Wire
The Emmerdale village takes over more than 11 acres of land, with all of its buildings classed as temporary structures and most of them built using timber structures covered in limestone cladding, designed based on the 1600s housing designs built with Yorkshire limestone. Photo: Rotor Aerial Photography / ITV Studios / PA Wire
In order to create a convincingly real-looking village, the set’s designers used a number of methods to effectively age the buildings including spraying the houses with yoghurt and manure to stimulate lichen to grow quickly on the walls and roofs. Photo: Lizzie Shepherd / ITV Studios / PA Wire
Steps leading up to houses were physically ground down to result in a look of centuries of weathering, and ivy and other species were introduced at a mature state so that they don’t look freshly planted. Photo: Rotor Aerial Photography / ITV Studios / PA Wire
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