(Based on and used with permission from the wicker-man.com site which was written circa mid-2000s.)
They shot here from Oct 27 - 29, 1972. The library on Oct 27.
Whithorn is a town near the south coast of Scotland. A number of scenes from The Wicker Man were shot here. (See this Google aerial map.)
The most recognizable of its locations is Whithorn Library, which served as the Summerisle library and registrar's office in the movie. The sign above the door has not changed since the time of filming. The library facade and neighbouring houses can also be seen in the film when the children of Summerisle chant 'we carry death out of the village' . With the exception of recently added wheelchair ramps, the scene remains exactly as it does in the movie. (Some behind the scenes pics of the We Carry Death scene.)
The Summerisle library and registry office interiors were filmed within the building. The floorplan has since changed though.
See also Andy Taylor's location footage from 2000.
A cottage in Whithorn, 59 George St, also served as the upstairs bedrooms and landings of the Green Man inn. (See this for the floorplans when it was used in the movie.)
The front of 59 George St.
A plaque in front of that house.
As you can see from the following photographs, its recent owners had not yet fully moved into the premises when they kindly allowed wicker-man.com to photograph their house. Howie's room
Alder's bedroom in particular is largely unchanged since the time of filming. Although the original woodwork in Howie's room has been painted over, it is also clearly recognizable.
Here are some shots of the rear of 59 George St. Willow's room would be the second story window on the left, Howie's is the one to the immediate right, adjacent to it.
The area where Lord Summerisle stood admiring the copulating snails, among other things, is now the site of a garage. Similarly, no evidence of rhubarb could be found during our visit! (Brown says it was shot behind the Cally Estate Offices in Gatehouse of Fleet on Nov 1, '72. There are also large Gunnera plants at Logan and pics of Lord Summerisle in kilt near some which might have been taken there. We don't know for sure where that scene was shot.)
Willow's bedroom has now been sub-divided into two smaller rooms. (It was made into one large room before the shoot by the set construction crew.) With the present house-owner's help we were able to confirm that, despite the changes, the original room door and windows are in the appropriate places and their woodwork is identical to that seen on screen. The cupboard doors which Britt Ekland banged upon have since been lost during the conversion.
Only the rear windows of the old double room can be seen in the film. A cupboard has since been placed into the lip in the wall adjacent to Willow's rear window.
(image hosted elsewhere, NSFW)
This is the back window.
(I am not sure which window this is. Probably the front.)
The front window.
The previous owner of the house for many years was Mrs Ruby Kirk, now deceased. Mrs Kirk often insisted that her house was definitely used to film Willow's now famous seduction. She was correct.
The hairdresser's shop, only seen in the director's cut, was listed as Elizabeth R Smith hairdressers at 23 Church Street on a call sheet but since there is no Church St in Whithorn, it is most likely a typo for George St. A building matches the descriptions there. (See this page for more info.)
The call sheet of November 3 says that the Fishmonger and Butcher shop scenes were to be shot in the Whithorn area but don't give addresses. Ian Sunderland, who was an antlerman in the film, thinks the fishmonger's might be Doughty's at 31-33 George St.
Some behind the scenes pics of #2 George St. which had some scenes shot in it although we are not sure what got used.
Much gratitude is due to James Redfern and his parents for allowing us access to their house which enabled us to write this article. Their hospitality was way above the call of duty. (Thanks also to Phil Heslop who lived there before he moved out with his mother, Ruby Kirk.)
Further information regarding the area can be found at www.whithorn.info and at http://www.whithorn.com