Case file · Series 13, Episode 4
The Silent Land
Joyce swerves around a shadow near a cemetery; soon a parish clerk is found dead among the graves.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
An abandoned institution and nocturnal ghost tours make this one of the late Tom era's most atmospheric mysteries.
- Best for
- Cemetery · Haunting · Abandoned hospital
- Mood
- Dark
- Team
- DCI Tom 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
An abandoned institution and nocturnal ghost tours make this one of the late Tom era's most atmospheric mysteries.
Joyce swerves around a shadow near a cemetery; soon a parish clerk is found dead among the graves.
Driving through March Magna at night, Joyce Barnaby narrowly misses a figure near the cemetery. Parish clerk Gerald Ebbs is later found dead there; his responsibilities included the library and graveyard, and he had developed a fixation on the abandoned St Fidelis hospital and one particular grave.
Barnaby and Jones examine Gerald's disputes across the parish while Joyce questions what she saw. A second murder during a night tour of the derelict hospital turns the village's appetite for hauntings into direct evidence.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Gerald's grave and hospital research uncovered a concealed identity. The apparent haunting is used to frighten witnesses and to protect what happened at St Fidelis.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 13
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Peter J. Hammond
- Directed by
- Peter Smith
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 3 August 2010 22 September 2010
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2009
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- March Magna
- Casebook tone
- Dark
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 2 broader filming areas and 4 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger10 episodes credited to Peter J. Hammond
- Director ledger22 episodes directed by Peter Smith
- Release positionCase 77 of 144
- Story characterDark · Cemetery · Haunting
- Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
The former Fairmile Hospital at Cholsey supplies the imposing abandoned institution.
Great Haseley provides the library, Gerald's cottage, the inn, florist and opening concert hall.
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.
Christina Cole
Published cast record ↗Danny Webb
Published cast record ↗Emma Fielding
Published cast record ↗Aden Gillett
Published cast record ↗Tony Selby
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
.jpg?width=720)
John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
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
2 source rows represent 2 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Gerald Ebbs
Murder · Vehicle or machinery
- Jeff Bowmaker
Murder · Fall
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Former Fairmile Hospital
Used as: The abandoned institution becomes St Fidelis Hospital in March Magna.
Village house
Used as: A house represents Ian and Faith Kent's home.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Great Haseley village centre
Used as: The pub, cottages, hall and shopfront become March Magna's library, inn, homes and florist.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Village farm
Used as: The farm appears as Alice and John Carver's bed and breakfast.
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