The outside location shots were of Norwich Anglican Cathedral, with particular reference to the cloisters.
A quite free adaptation of M.R. James's short story (which is actually called "The Stalls Of Barchester Cathedral"). The leading character of "Dr. Black" does not appear in the story and the events concerning Archdeacon Haynes are said to have taken place in the late 18th and early 19th century, rather than in the 1880s, as here.