Film crew hire/Cornwall/Props and wardrobe
Props and wardrobe for Cornwall shoots. Where it comes from, and who runs it on the day.
Cornwall’s one costume store open to productions is Falmouth University’s, at Penryn, and for now it’s free to use in return for experience for its students. Kneehigh gave its sets, props and costumes away when it wound down, and we couldn’t find a prop hire house in the county, so hired props and most period costume come down from Bristol and London. Here’s where to go, how hire is charged, what Cornwall Council’s code says about replica weapons and police uniforms, how to dress a beach before the tide turns, and who we book to run it on the day.
Wardrobe store · Falmouth University
No charge, for now
Bristol Costume Services
90,000+ costumes
Stylist · day rate
£519–647
Hair and make-up · day rate
£398
On this page
01 The people
Who runs props and wardrobe on a Cornish shoot
On a corporate interview in Truro, often nobody: the contributor wears their own clothes and the set is the room. On a brand film or an advert, these are the people, at our day rates. Hair and make-up and costume are among the roles Cornwall is short of, so we book Cornish crew first and bring the rest down from Bristol, Devon or London, with travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked.
| Role | What they do | Day rate |
|---|---|---|
| Art director | Designs the look of the set and runs the art department | £675–878 |
| Props buyer | Finds, buys or hires everything on screen, and knows what can be found in the county and what has to come down | £493–585 |
| Set builders | Build, paint and strike the set | £341–512 |
| Stylist | Chooses and fits the wardrobe for talent and contributors | £519–647 |
| Costume | Designs, sources and fits costume for period or character work | £519–694 |
| Wardrobe assistant | Dresses the cast and keeps continuity on the day | £341–398 |
| Hair and make-up | Gets people camera-ready, and keeps them that way | £398, plus a £25 kit fee |
| Armourer | Looks after any firearm or replica on set, which Cornwall Council’s code puts under special guidance | Quoted on the brief |
Our work · The Lizard, Cornwall · June 2026
Hair and make-up, and an art assistant, on a clifftop
Cohere’s call sheet for the Lizard had a hair and make-up artist and an art assistant who was also the props buyer, on a 07:00 unit call and a 21:00 wrap, in fog, with no vehicle access to the set.
Our work · Talland Bay and Lostwithiel · August 2025
A key make-up artist for Whistlefish
For Whistlefish’s first TV ad we booked a key make-up artist for two professional leads and real families, across two days in one home and on the coast, with a chaperone for the children.
How we crew it · Cornwall
Found in the county, hired from upcountry
Contemporary wardrobe and small props bought locally and returned, workwear, uniforms and period basics from Falmouth’s wardrobe store, period costume booked in Bristol or London and fitted before the day, and the stylist’s prep and returns days on the quote. Every purchase and hire is its own line.
02 Wardrobe
Costume and wardrobe
Cornwall has one costume store open to productions, Falmouth University’s, and it’s free to use for now. The big period collections are upcountry. Book the fitting before you book the shoot.
Penryn Campus · Falmouth University
Falmouth University Wardrobe Store
A costume house for student and professional film and TV, in Falmouth’s Fashion & Textiles Institute: contemporary menswear and womenswear, workwear and uniforms, sportswear, 20th-century and medieval period dress, and national dress. Open to productions of any size based in Cornwall.
Bristol · The Bottle Yard Studios
Bristol Costume Services
Over 90,000 period and contemporary costumes and accessories for theatre, film and TV since 1990, with a workroom for alterations and repairs, fitting rooms, and lower rates for costumes used as set dressing rather than worn.
London
Angels Costumes
More than a million items and eight miles of hanging costume, supplying film, TV and theatre since 1840, and now part of John Gore Studios.
Our crew
Stylists, costume and make-up
We book costume designers and stylists, and hair and make-up artists, with the rest of the crew. Wardrobe runs the fittings before the day, and the rails and continuity photos on it.
Not for hire
Falmouth’s Textiles & Dress Collection is for study and research, not hire. And Kneehigh, the Cornish theatre company, wound down from June 2021 and gave its sets, props and costumes to the people who devised its shows and to Cornish arts organisations, so there’s no Kneehigh store to hire from (checked October 2026). Falmouth does teach Costume Design for Film & TV at Penryn, and Prosthetic Effects at master’s level.
03 Props
Prop hire and set dressing
We couldn’t find a film prop hire house in Cornwall with a live site in October 2026, and Miracle Theatre in Penryn hires out only its staging trailer. Hired props come down from Bristol and London; dressing is often bought in the county.
Just outside Bristol
Full To Bursting Prop Hire
A family-run prop hire for theatre, TV, film and photo shoots, with vintage, retro and quirky props, telephones and typewriters among them, and costume making, alterations, styling and sourcing as well.
Bristol · The Bottle Yard Studios
Set Smith
Set building of every kind, from traditional techniques to modern speed-line systems, for anything that has to be made rather than hired.
London
Superhire
Contemporary furniture and classics for film, TV, commercials and photographers, supplying the industry for over 50 years.
Worth knowing
Cornwall Council’s FilmApp terms allow no vehicles on council property without specific permission, so on a beach, in a park or in a wood the props van stops where the road does. Plan the carry, and put the extra hands on the quote.
04 On the coast
Dressing a beach, a quay or a clifftop
Most Cornish sets are outside, and the land, the sea and the weather all have a say in what goes on them.
Council beaches
Cornwall Council’s land includes beaches, and filming on them needs a FilmApp permit. Its terms say the lifeguards must be told if the beach is patrolled, and no vehicles go onto the property without specific permission. RNLI lifeguards patrol 20 Cornish beaches from May; tell the lifeguards before filming on a patrolled beach.
The foreshore
Below the high-water mark the owner is often the Duchy of Cornwall, which holds over 160 miles of Cornish foreshore, and Screen Cornwall says low-tide filming needs separate permission (checked October 2026). Dressing laid on the sand at low tide sits on someone else’s land.
The tide
Set dressing on the sand has a clock on it. ADMIRALTY EasyTide predicts the tide for today and the next six days at more than 600 port locations, and Screen Cornwall calls Cornish tides unpredictable and uneven, so plan the strike before the water turns.
Harbours
Cornwall Council’s harbour masters run Newquay, Truro, Penzance and St Ives, where byelaws are enforceable and Newquay’s North Quay is closed behind a coded gate. Falmouth and Padstow have their own commissioners, and neither publishes filming rules, so ask the harbour master before anything is laid on a quay (checked October 2026).
The wind
Culdrose, on the Lizard, averages a mean wind of 12 knots (Met Office 1991 to 2020 averages). Anything light on a clifftop needs weighting: on the clifftops of our Cohere shoot nothing could be pegged, so every gazebo was weighted.
Protected land
On a Site of Special Scientific Interest, anything that could damage the site needs Natural England’s consent through the landowner, so ask before you lay dressing on heath or dune. Our locations and permits guide has the rest.
05 Specialist
Replica weapons, uniforms, effects and children
Weapons
Cornwall Council’s code for film makers says staging a crime or an accident, using firearms and dressing actors as police all need special guidance, so raise them with the council’s Events and Filming team on the first call. We found no published Devon and Cornwall Police protocol for filming, so the code is where it starts. An armourer looks after any firearm or replica on set.
The law
Section 12 of the Firearms Act 1968 lets a person taking part in the production of a film have a firearm for the production without holding a certificate; a prohibited weapon needs separate authority. Supplying it and looking after it is the armourer’s job.
Uniforms
It is an offence to impersonate a police officer, so the code asks for police uniforms to be covered between takes.
Ambulances, fire and effects
Tell the Ambulance Service about a pseudo ambulance, and the Fire Brigade about special effects, fire or explosions. Effects teams come from upcountry: Real SFX is a tenant at The Bottle Yard in Bristol.
Noise and neighbours
The code asks for noise to be kept to a minimum in unsociable hours, normally 10pm to 8am, and for residents and businesses to be told by letter at least seven days ahead; FilmApp’s terms say five days, to residents and the parish or town council. Plan an effect, or a generator, around both.
Children in costume
A child performing in a film or an advert needs a licence: Cornwall Council says it’s illegal for a child to perform without one, a BOPA application needs at least 21 days’ notice, and a chaperone may look after no more than 12 children (checked October 2026). On Whistlefish’s ad, a chaperone looked after the children.
06 Costs
How prop and costume hire is charged
Falmouth’s wardrobe store
No charge at present: productions are asked to give students industry experience in return, so put a student on the wardrobe team and say so when you book.
Costume hire
Bristol Costume Services quotes per job, cleaning included, with flexible rates for long film and TV hires and lower rates for costumes used as dressing (checked October 2026).
Replacement value
Ask each house for the replacement value of every item, because your insurance has to cover it from collection to return, and photograph its condition when you collect.
The van and the A30
A collection from Bristol or London is a van day each way on the quote. Bristol Costume Services couriers anywhere in the country overnight, which can save the trip; Visit Cornwall warns of heavy traffic in peak season, the school holidays and at weekends (checked October 2026). More in our Cornwall logistics guide.
Prep and returns
Most styling jobs need a prep day, the shoot day and a returns day, so all three go on the quote. Returns are scheduled like a shoot day, so hire charges don’t run on.
On our quote
Purchases and hires go on at cost, each on its own line, with the prep and returns days they need.
Need props or wardrobe?
Tell us what’s in the frame. We’ll book the stylist, buyer or art director, find it in Cornwall or bring it down, and put each item on the quote. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Quick contact form
07 Questions
Props and wardrobe in Cornwall: questions
Where can I hire costumes in Cornwall?
Falmouth University’s Wardrobe Store at Penryn is the county’s costume store for film and TV: contemporary clothes, workwear and uniforms, sportswear, 20th-century and medieval period dress and national dress, by appointment and at no charge for now. For bigger period stock, Bristol Costume Services at The Bottle Yard holds over 90,000 costumes and couriers overnight, and Angels in London more than a million items.
Is there a prop hire house in Cornwall?
Not one we could find with a live site in October 2026. Kneehigh’s sets and props were given away when the company wound down, and Miracle Theatre in Penryn hires only its staging trailer. Hired props come from Bristol, Full To Bursting Prop Hire just outside the city among them, or from London houses such as Superhire; smaller dressing is often bought in the county.
How much does Falmouth’s wardrobe store cost?
Nothing at present. It’s open to productions of any size based in Cornwall, and asks for industry experience for its students in return. Visits are by appointment (checked October 2026).
Can I use a replica gun on a shoot in Cornwall?
Yes, with special guidance first. Cornwall Council’s code for film makers puts firearms, staged crimes and accidents, and police uniforms in that category, so raise it on the first call. Section 12 of the Firearms Act 1968 lets people taking part in a film production have a firearm for it without a certificate, and an armourer looks after it on set.
Can actors wear police uniform in Cornwall?
Yes, with care. Impersonating a police officer is an offence, so Cornwall Council’s code asks for uniforms to be covered between takes, and police uniforms are on its list of things that need special guidance first.
Can we dress a beach for a shoot?
Usually, with the right permissions. A Cornwall Council beach needs a FilmApp permit, the lifeguards told if it’s patrolled, and no vehicles on the property without specific permission. Below the high-water mark the Duchy of Cornwall often owns the foreshore, and the tide sets the clock: ADMIRALTY EasyTide gives predictions for today and the next six days.
Do you supply stylists and hair and make-up in Cornwall?
Yes. We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, so we can scale a crew from one camera operator on a beach to a full unit on a clifftop. We book Cornish stylists, costume designers and hair and make-up artists first, and bring them down from Bristol, Devon or London when the brief needs them, with travel and hotels on the quote. A stylist is £519–647 a day and hair and make-up £398, before our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance. We booked a key make-up artist for Whistlefish’s first TV ad, and our Cohere crew on the Lizard had a hair and make-up artist.
Around the crew
More for Cornwall shoots
01
Kit rental
The Cornish Camera Co., Falmouth University’s stores, the crew’s own kit, and what comes down from Bristol.
02
Locations and permits
Cornwall Council, the National Trust, Natural England, the Duchy, the harbours and the drone rules.
03
Studios and set builds
Falmouth University’s studios, converted barns and pop-up spaces, and the stages in Bristol.
05
Logistics
The A30, the sleeper, Newquay airport, narrow lanes, tides, weather days and crew hotels.
