Stunned locals had NO IDEA historic manor the where the Queen held a tea party was the secret location for Channel 4 swinger show Open House featuring 15-person orgy

Stunned villagers living in the shadow of the Grade 1 listed manor house in Herefordshire said they were ‘not enthralled but not surprised’ that the house was used as a secret location for a Channel 4 sex program that saw ‘experimenting couples’ have 15-man orgies with paid OnlyFans stars. 

Channel 4’s ‘Open House: The Great Sex Experiment’ was filmed in and around the enormous 1200 acre estate last September and saw a host of ‘sexually liberated people’ canoodle in its opulent surroundings. 

The location of the house had been a closely guarded secret with neither Channel 4 nor the programs production company Firecracker willing to divulge it’s whereabouts, however MailOnline can reveal that the mansion in Much Dewchurch was chosen. 

The old world property dates back to the 1700s and was used by the late Queen in 2003 for a tea party- before being sold for £15million in 2016.

The presence of TV cameras in the area couldn’t fail to be noticed by the small community of Much Dewchurch who watched the comings and goings from the house with interest – although none of them had any idea precisely what was being filmed.

Speaking to MailOnline, one woman, who didn’t want to be named, said: ‘I know camera crews have been there a lot but I assumed it was the Antiques Roadshow or something to do with the history of the building.

‘The Queen held a garden party there once but that was before the new people took over.

‘It’s the first I’ve heard of sex parties, I hope no one local is involved.’

A grandmother, who has lived in the village of Much Dewchurch most of her life, added: ‘Oh dear, this isn’t going to do much for the village’s reputation.’

Another elderly woman resident said: ‘I’m not enthralled by the idea but nor surprised either, I think they’ve had something like this going on there before.’

Locals in the village’s only pub, the Black Swan agreed that the historic 15th century Manor House standing in 1200 acres of prime Herefordshire countryside had staged something similar in the past.

Decorator Steve Beach, 50, said: ‘There was something going on there a while back with swingers and wife-swapping.

‘It’s a bit surprising because this is a peaceful, rustic village. We’re all quite old-fashioned around here.

‘I know they have pheasant shoots and fishing on the lake down there but it seems there’s a bit more going on there too.’

Supping his pint outside the pub, retired oil exporter David Pritchard, 75, said: ‘I think people around here are amused by it.

‘No one takes offence, we are quite a broadminded lot.’

Another drinker at the pub, who didn’t want to be named, said: ‘Is it finished? I might have gone along if I’d known.’

Retired racehorse stable worker Fran Hargest, 67, said: ‘I’ve lived here for 30 years, this is something new going on here.

‘But if it goes on behind closed doors it doesn’t affect me or anyone else.’

Village vicar Rev Mark Johnson agreed. ‘I don’t want to comment on anything that might be happening in a private house.’

But tenants living income of the rented farm buildings on the estate were unaware that a Channel Four sex documentary had been filmed there.

One young woman tenant said: ‘There were film crews here but it’s the first I’ve heard of anything like this.’

The program’s second series recently concluded and casting is already occuring for the third installment. 

The program is framed as a ‘social experiment’ where everyday couples engage in activities that previously seemed taboo to them with random housemates comprised of ‘ordinary people’.

But many of the promiscuous couples and singletons featured on the show are actually full or part time adult content creators – a fact that is never addressed on the show where they are merely described as models. 

Both Firecracker productions and Channel 4 repeatedly ignored requests from MailOnline to clarify whether they had paid OnlyFans stars for their time on the show – where their ultimate purpose was to have sex with the public.

Clarifying the situation to MailOnline, a spokesman for Tinopolis (Firecracker’s parent company) said: ‘Everyone who took part in the series was fully background checked before being cleared to take part, and everyone (couples and residents) received a set per diem to cover expenses during filming.’ 

One of the show’s residents also told MailOnline that all the residents lived on the set for two weeks with all expenses paid for and several of her housemates were earning ‘big money’ on OnlyFans.