The Matthew: Your Ideal Filming and Photoshoot Location
The Matthew is a popular location choice for film and television productions – there simply isn’t another ship like it!
The Matthew is available for hire for film and television work and is also a fantastic location for your photo shoot. The ship is also available to take part in maritime and arts festivals in the UK and beyond. Our captain and crew are highly experienced in their knowledge of Bristol Harbour and the surrounding area and can work creatively with you to make sure setup and filming run smoothly. They’ve also been known to get involved as extras for some of the productions filmed on board!
Since the requirements for work of this nature is highly individual and no two jobs are the same, please contact The Matthew office to discuss the details of your project and get a quote for hiring the ship.
Film and TV work
The Matthew has featured in a number of film and television productions.
The ship has starred in both series of Disney's Galavant, was hired for location work on the World War II film Another Mother’s Son, and is featured in the Netflix film The King. The Matthew was also chartered for the UK promotion of The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader.
The Matthew has also featured in a number of TV productions, including Flog It!, Boats That Built Britain, The Hairy Bikers’ Pubs That Built Britain, and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip for the BBC, Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys with Timothy West and Prunella Scales, and Don’t Tell The Bride, and the Channel 5 documentary The Lost Ship.
We’ve even been used as a music video location for A Doubtful Sound!
A Doubtful Sound – Take It Away
Credits
Shot, produced, edited and directed by Lee Pretious
Slow-motion camera by Tim Price
PA and backline supplied by Firebird Studios
Band photography by Ian Skriczka
Photoshoots
The Matthew is a great location for your natural light photoshoot – just take a look at our Instagram page to see some of the beautiful shots taken by both professional and amateur photographers! Bristol’s harbourside and, of course, the ship itself, both offer fantastic backdrops at all times of the day and in all weathers.
The ship was recently used as a location for a photoshoot by Bristol Old Vic costume design graduate Madi Barnicoat. One of Madi’s graduating projects was a costume design for the 18th-century pirate, Anne Bonny – The Matthew was a perfect location for the shoot, which resulted in some amazing photos for Madi’s portfolio.
credits
Costuming by Mad Harry Costumes
Photography by Shill Photography
Mary Reed modelled by Rhiannon Occhini
Anne Bonny modelled by Madi Barnicoat
Maritime Festivals and other large events
The Matthew has appeared at various maritime festivals, both at home and abroad – Brest and Vannes in France and Falmouth, Plymouth, Gloucester and Portsmouth closer to home here in Bristol.
We’ve also starred as the Ancient Mariner’s ship for the 2016 Coleridge in Wales Festival, sailing into Cardiff Bay with a crew of zombies, and then touring along the South Wales coast to Swansea!
If you’d like The Matthew to take part in your maritime festival or other large event, please contact The Matthew office with all the details.
