‘Mayfair Witches’ Filmed on the Same Street as Anne Rice’s Home in NOLA — What to Know About the Historic Manor
Those who tune into Mayfair Witches on AMC, an adaptation of Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches novels, will be treated to views of a gorgeous historic home in New Orleans. On the show, this house is said to have belonged to the Mayfairs, a family of powerful witches. Unfortunately, the home used in Mayfair Witches is not the exact location of the house in Rice’s books, but that place does exist. Here’s where Mayfair Witches was filmed and what to know about the real Mayfair Manor.
Where is ‘Mayfair Witches’ being filmed?
Mayfair Witches was filmed in New Orleans between April and September 2022. Many scenes took place at a mansion called Soria-Creel House in the Garden District. As Mayfair Witches stars Harry Hamlin and Tongayi Chirisa told SK Pop, this home is just down the street from 1239 First Street, a.k.a. The Rosegate House, where Rice lived with her husband Stan from 1989 to 2004. (Fun fact: The Rosegate House is also minutes away from Buckner Mansion, where American Horror Story: Coven was filmed.)
“To just be inside there and soak in the history of that house was truly amazing,” Hamlin said.
According to Chirisa, Mayfair Witches couldn’t get access to Rice’s home on First Street. However, they reproduced the exterior at Soria-Creel House as best they could and filmed many interior shots on a soundstage.
“We actually couldn’t get the real one but we were able to get one that was similar. And so, like Harry was saying, they actually reproduced the outside, but internal stuff they had to do it onstage,” Chirisa shared. “But I think the spirit of New Orleans and the spirit of Anne Rice lives because we filmed in the same street that the house was in.”
Anne Rice’s home in New Orleans inspired her ‘Mayfair Witches’ books
Rice owned a few different homes in New Orleans. However, Rosegate was particularly significant to The Lives of the Mayfair Witches. According to Rice’s official website, the First Street house served as the inspiration for the Mayfair family’s home in her novels. She recreated many parts of the home in her books, including the swimming pool, the side porch, and the iron balcony.
As the website notes, James Calrow and Charles Pride built the mansion in 1857. Its first owner was Albert Hamilton Brevard, “a wealthy merchant with a taste for the finer things in life.” However, Brevard died just two years after he moved in. The Greek Revival and Italianate home then belonged to Reverend Emory Clapp, who added a library-turned-smoking room. After Rev. Clapp’s death, his wife continued living in the home until 1934. She was responsible for adding the elevator.
Rice and her husband lived at Rosegate for 15 years. In 2004, she decided to leave New Orleans for good after he husband’s death and moved to California, where she remained until her death in 2021.
What is ‘Mayfair Witches’ on AMC about?
Mayfair Witches stars Alexandra Daddario as a neurosurgeon named Dr. Rowan Fielding. When Rowan discovers that she’s a member of the Mayfair family of witches, she must fight off a dark presence and learn to control her powers. Jack Huston, Annabeth Gish, Beth Grant, Erica Gimpel, and Jen Richards also star.
Mayfair Witches premieres on Jan. 8 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The first episode is also available on AMC+.
