Fictional place, real ingredients

Market Shipborough directory

A street-by-street style guide to the businesses, institutions and landscapes that make the fictional town feel coherent.

Confirmed exterior

Kingdom & Kingdom

Peter’s legal practice and the story’s principal meeting point.

Real-world match: Oakleigh House, Swaffham

Confirmed

Market square

The civic and commercial heart of the fictional town.

Real-world match: Swaffham Market Place

Confirmed identification

The Startled Duck

Recurring pub and informal community space.

Real-world match: The Greyhound, Swaffham

Confirmed

Harbour and quay

The maritime edge that makes the inland market town feel coastal.

Real-world match: Wells-next-the-Sea

Confirmed area; scenes need logging

Beach and dunes

Space for reflection, arrivals and the Simon storyline.

Real-world match: Holkham Bay and the north Norfolk coast

Confirmed

Lifeboat station

A working coastal institution folded into Market Shipborough.

Real-world match: Wells lifeboat setting

Published identification

Lighthouse

A threatened landmark in the second-series opening story.

Real-world match: Happisburgh Lighthouse

Corroboration pending

Aunt Auriel’s home

The older family world beyond the practice.

Real-world match: Cockley Cley Hall

Open research

Retirement home

Setting for Aunt Auriel’s circle and The Tempest.

Real-world match: Not yet matched

Partly documented

Cambridge

Peter’s education and two return visits.

Real-world match: Queens’ College and other Cambridge settings