The owner of the historic mansion used for the filming of Saltburn has claimed tourists are trespassing to get videos and photos of themselves near the property. Charles Stopford Sackville, who owns the enormous Drayton House in Northamptonshire, has claimed he wishes the interest would blow over.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Stopford Sackville, who inherited the house from his father, claims he now has staff patrolling the grounds and admits he wasn't ready for this level of interest. He explained: "I never envisaged the amount of interest there would be. It's quite weird, I don’t take it as flattering.
"How would you feel if people were taking pictures outside your house? I'd prefer the interest to blow over but I can't make it blow over."
However, it hasn't been all bad, with the local village, Lowick, has experienced a boom in tourism. One of Lowick's pubs claims to be doing double the trade it used to on weekends, as fans rush to be close to where the hit movie was filmed.
For Stopford Sackville though, he has a problem. His estate has a public footpath running through the estate, meaning walkers can have a lovely stroll in the countryside and see the exterior of Drayton House. The Grade-1 listed building has become hugely popular on TikTok, with fans wanting to get a glimpse of the mansion.
In fact, one video on the platform has been viewed close to six million times and shows directions to the public footpath. Stopford Sackville has admitted that most walkers have been "fairly good", but he claims more than 50 have trespassed by straying off path.
The mansion features heavily in Saltburn and a naked dance, performed by Barry Keoghan inside the house has led Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 2001 song Murder on the Dancefloor to re-enter the charts. Unfortunately for Stopford Sackville, it has also seen 'trespassers' dancing to the song in front of the house, albeit with clothes on.
Saltburn follows a student at Oxford who becomes obsessed with an aristocratic fellow student, who later invites him to spend the summer at his family's estate. It has won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film, Best Original Score, while Keoghan, Rosamund Pike and Jacob Elordi have all collected Baftas for their performances in it.
Drayton House was built in the 1300s and has been in the Sackville family since the 18th century. Stopford Sackville is friends with Saltburn director Emerald Fennell's parents, hence its use for filming.
