121, The Avenue, Ealing

62, Sheen Road is a very large house in the leafy suburb of Ealing. (Readers of the later books will be shuddering right about now!). The house is seen on screen for only a brief period of time, yet it is a critical part of the scene-setting in Episode 1 of Lockwood & Co.

The start of the very first episode of Lockwood & Co is extremely faithful to the beginning of The Screaming Staircase’s first chapter. It begins with the arrival of a night cab in the street outside 62, Sheen Road. Lockwood and Lucy emerge and begin their walk up the garden path. Although the street appears similar to many London suburbs, we are immediately given clues that all is not the same as our normality.

CLUE ONE: The first shot is of a ghost lamp blinking into life. (St Stephen’s Church in the background was a key clue to Ed tracking down the site). From that moment on, the whole feel of the series has a distinct green tinge to it.

CLUE TWO: Next we are introduced to the concept of a Night Cab. A seemingly standard black cab, except it has silver bars around its windows.

CLUE THREE: Then the two young people who emerge, whilst dressed in clothing we might own ourselves, are armed to the hilt (literally), as we are given glimpses of explosives and rapiers strapped at their waists. When this young couple walk to the front door, they are not discussing school work or dating, they are talking battle strategy. We are given hints that Lockwood is more senior than Lucy, but that actually, Lucy might be every bit as talented in whatever they are about to do as he is. They meet their client, she reveals more hints about this strangely parallel world to our own.

The curfew hour begins and so does the fun.

We can all tell why this particular house was chosen. The balcony is perfect!