Over the years, the county has secured a reputation as a premier location for a variety of Hollywood blockbusters.

Thanks to the production of period dramas such as Pride and Prejudice and exciting thrillers, like 2006's Da Vinci Code, some of Lincolnshire's most spectacular landmarks have been transformed into beacons of the region's popularity amongst established film directors and producers.

Whilst for most of us the county's economy is synonymous with manufacturing, industry, and agriculture, the contribution of film and television is largely ignored.

However, the significance of film-tourism in Lincolnshire should not be underestimated, as we also find out this month.

Lincoln Cathedral - arguably the region's most striking and beautiful attraction - has welcomed a host of stars from the film industry.

However, unlikely Lincolnshire film locations have also included Gedney Drove End, and Grimsby Fish Dock, each used in Atonement, which starred Keira Knightley. Keira is, herself, a regular to Lincolnshire featuring in 2005's Pride &?Prejudice, and again in 2007's Elizabeth: The Golden Age, starring Cate Blanchett and Samantha Morton.

Currently in production, The Iron Lady is a biography of Margaret Thatcher's life due for release at the end of 2011. The film will profile the life of the Grantham politician and former PM, as well as starring Lincolnshire actor Jim Broadbent.

Lincolnshire Films — Movie CV: Burghley House

Pride & Prejudice: Released: 2005. Budget: $28,000,000. Box Office: $38,405,000.

The Da Vinci Code: Released: 2006. Budget: $125,000,000. Box Office: $230,000,000.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age: Released: 2007. Budget: $55,000,000. Box Office: $74,237,563.

AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S, most picturesque stone Georgian towns, Working Title chose Stamford for their 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.

'The most extraordinary sight in all Europe' is the famous quote from Pride and Prejudice's infamous Mr Collins. It's a fitting summary of the south-west view of Burghley which appeared in Working Title's take on the popular tale.

Filming lasted for four days at Burghley - during which time the magnificent mansion portrayed Rosings, the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, played by Dame Judi Dench.

The Heaven Room (pictured) was used to portray Lady Catherine's drawing room, whilst shots of the exterior were also featured heavily. Burghley House staff members were even invited to play roles in the four-time Oscar nominated film - one was asked to play the role of Lady Catherine's head footman.

As one of the largest and grandest houses of the first Elizabethan Age the impressive Tudor manor was built and largely designed by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I between the years of 1555, and 1587, and it is for this reason that historic thriller Elizabeth: The Golden Age also utilised the building's stunning aesthetics. The house was used to portray the home of Dr John Dee, personal astrologer and advisor to Queen Elizabeth. Filming captured scenes on the house's intricate roofline, with scenes featuring John Dee standing amidst 29 chimney stacks and 72 towering columns.

As a versatile and much-demanded location, Burghley's Hollywood résumé is not limited to period or historical dramas - it also played numerous locations in thrilling blockbuster Da Vinci Code after the production's Lincoln filming.

The film crew spent five weeks on site transforming the estate in order to convince the film's global audience of Burghley's Hollywood potential. Da Vinci Code scenes filmed on the estate included the garages at Chateau Villette which saw fictional characters Teabing and Langdon hotly pursued by the French police, and the Saunières countryside retreat where the young Sophie witnessed the Priory of Scion ritual ceremony.

In a spectacular night-time scene, the Stable Courtyard was also transformed into a fourteenth century French village with a flashback to the medieval witch hunts.

Lincolnshire Films — Movie CV: Grimsby Fish Docks

Atonement: Released: 2007. Budget: $30,000,000. Box Office: $38,405,000.

GRIMSBY fish dock workers also had a brush with fame in 2006 as makers of the Hollywood film Atonement requested extras to play the parts of World War Two soldiers. Part romance, part war film, a large proportion of Ian McEwan's best-selling novel takes place in Northern France  - when thousands of soldiers from the Allied forces were stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk - but was filmed in Grimsby and in Gedney near Holbeach.

Directors, producers, and crew spent a month transforming the site and recreating wartime scenes in a bid to convince the film's global audience that ruined buildings in Lincolnshire were in fact the back streets of French town Dunkirk.

Despite featuring in less than five minutes of the finished film, the crew, staff, actors, actresses and extras spent two nights shooting the footage on the Lincolnshire coastline.

Unit Publicist, Rachel Kennedy described Grimsby's appeal; ''It's just what we were looking for; we could have tried to do this in a studio but Dunkirk was a fishing port like Grimsby and it has been able to provide the atmosphere we wanted. This was the perfect place to do it."

Lincolnshire Films — Movie CV: Lincoln Cathedral

The Da Vinci Code: Released: 2006. Budget: $125,000,000.Box Office: $230,000,000.

The Young Victoria: Released: 2009. Budget: $35,000,000. Box Office: $27,400,000.

ONE OF EUROPE's finest Gothic buildings, it's not surprising that our beloved Cathedral is in global demand amongst renowned film producers.

Doubling up as Westminster Abbey in both The Young Victoria, and Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, Lincoln Cathedral has been an extremely popular location for a variety of award winning flicks.

The nave, the cloisters, and the chapter house were used to film Da Vinci Code scenes which - in the book - took place in Westminster Abbey.

Whilst the decision to agree to the filming was met with controversy - critics argued that the film undermined the Christian faith - the 'great abyss of the nave, 'the great stone columns which ascend like redwoods,' and the  'prismatic patchwork of light' from the stained glass, in the Cathedral accurately imitated the features vividly described in the book.

Hollywood moved into the Cathedral for four weeks in total; two pre-production weeks, one filming week, and a final week for post-production.

At the height of its production, it housed almost 500 technicians, staff, crew, actors and extras. Over 150 local people served as extras - suitably clad in 17th century dress.

Actors including Academy Award Winners Tom Hanks, and Sir Ian Mckellen, and BAFTA nominated Audrey Tautou, attracted extensive attention during filming, and of the city and its surroundings, Oscar winning director Ron Howard said "It's beautiful, absolutely gorgeous and friendly."

During its production, The Dean made a statement that "The Da Vinci Code stimulates debate and the search for truth and we are glad to be part of this process."

The Cathedral's starring role did not end here however, Hollywood actors and actresses swarmed to Lincoln Cathedral again, this time in 2007.

Young Victoria - which starred Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, and received an Oscar in 2010 - featured the Cathedral as the setting for Victoria's coronation.

The film also saw the well-celebrated Lincolnshire actor Jim Broadbent play the role of King William - who was no doubt pleased to return to his home county.

Also on location at Lincoln Cathedral, Princess Beatrice - who is currently fifth in line to the throne - appeared in a non-speaking role in the scenes depicting the coronation of her great-great-great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

The building's interior featured heavily in the film, and provided a suitably stunning background for the crucial occasion in the young Victoria's turbulent early years as queen.