Case file · Series 14, Episode 4
The Oblong Murders
Jones enters a New Age retreat under cover after a young woman disappears from Malham Manor.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The investigation splits neatly between Jones inside the Oblong Foundation and Barnaby examining the manor's less spiritual history.
- Best for
- New Age group · Undercover inquiry · Country house
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI John Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
The investigation splits neatly between Jones inside the Oblong Foundation and Barnaby examining the manor's less spiritual history.
Jones enters a New Age retreat under cover after a young woman disappears from Malham Manor.
Lucy Oliver disappears after joining the Oblong Foundation, a New Age group operating from Malham Manor. Because she is connected to friends of pathologist George Bullard, Barnaby agrees to investigate while Jones uses his recent undercover training to enter the group as an inductee.
The manor belongs to Ruth Lambert, whose parents died in a boat explosion, and Barnaby suspects that their history is connected to the present disappearance. When a Foundation leader is killed, the retreat's language of reinvention begins to look useful to people concealing very practical crimes.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The Foundation's mysteries are entangled with the earlier boat explosion and the ownership of Malham Manor. Barnaby and Jones expose how new identities were used to bury an older murder.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 14
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- David Hoskins
- Directed by
- Renny Rye
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 25 May 2011
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2010
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Malham
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 1 broader filming area and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger9 episodes credited to David Hoskins
- Director ledger23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
- Release positionCase 85 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · New Age group · Undercover inquiry
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
Ben Jones spends much of the case inside the Oblong Foundation under an assumed identity.
Barry Jackson makes his final regular appearance as pathologist Dr George Bullard.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
Selected episode credits
Guest cast on file
Selected profiles and published cast-list entries. Database records are linked individually; this is not a full transcription or an independent check against the end credits.
Charity Wakefield
Published cast record ↗Christine Bottomley
Published cast record ↗Holly Aird
Published cast record ↗Kevin Doyle
Published cast record ↗John Woodvine
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
Neil Dudgeon
John Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor whose television work before Causton included Piece of Cake, The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, Messiah and the sitcom Life of Riley. He also appeared in Midsomer Murders years earlier as a different character in Garden of Death.
- Messiah
- Life of Riley
- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · InspectorA Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.
- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 source rows represent 4 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Jeremy & Carolyn Lambert×2
Murder · Explosion
- Max Fuller
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
- Freddie Raft
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
The Eight Bells
Used as: The real building supplied the village-pub exterior in fictional Midsomer Malham.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Chenies Manor
Used as: The Tudor manor becomes Malham Manor, headquarters of the Oblong Foundation.
Building identities are cross-checked against the Casebook's published filming-location references. A named match describes the part used on screen, not the whole village and not necessarily an interior.
Wider filming areas