AN OXFORDSHIRE castle recently used as a set for the BBC’s Wolf Hall will undergo the first improvements to its kitchens and tea room since 1975.

Plans have been submitted for Broughton Castle, near Banbury, that will see the kitchen area extended, improved drainage, as well as refurbished toilets in the car park.

Custodian and heir Martin Fiennes said: “The original plan was rather more than we’re actually going to end up doing. But it’s overdue. It will make a few people more comfortable – there will be heating in the toilets for a start.”

Mr Fiennes is the son of Nathaniel Fiennes, whose official title is 21st Baron Saye and Sele. Ownership of the castle has remained in the family since 1447.

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The building itself, a fortified manor house, has a medieval core built in 1300 and was extended in 1550, making much of it Tudor in origin.

The initial plan was also to update ticketing facilities and disabled access, but these were abandoned for cost reasons.

Mr Fiennes said the project would cost “a lot” but added he hoped the work would last 30 or 40 years.

He said: “We had 14,000 visitors last year and about 20 per cent from overseas.

“But we hope we’ll have a little more this year.

“I think the Wolf Hall publicity will bring an extra thousand.”

The BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s bestselling historical novel was partly filmed at Broughton Castle in June and July 2014.

Oxford Mail: Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in BBC 2 drama, Wolf Hall (PHOTO: BBC).

Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in BBC 2 drama, Wolf Hall.

Episode three, which aired on February 4, featured three parts of the castle in its opening scenes.

Over the years the castle has played host to crews from Shakespeare in Love, Jane Eyre and Antiques Roadshow.

On its attraction as a set, Mr Fiennes said: “It’s a beautiful and unspoilt Tudor manor house. And it’s only an hour and a quarter from London.”

Cherwell District Council is due to decide on the plans by March 30.