Links and Bibliography
backup
the technical entertainment charity
Backup Tech is a charity that supports technical professionals working in live events, theatre, television and film who through no fault of their own are unable to support themselves or their families due to illness or accident.
If you have enjoyed reading this website, can I ask you to consider making a donation? Please visit www.backuptech.uk to find out how you can help. Even a few pounds will make a difference.
Thanks…
I am grateful for the use of the logos and other images which have been copied from several other sites or scanned from hard copies in old out-of-print books and publications. I hope I have offended nobody by using them. If you own the copyright to any image on this site and wish it to be removed, contact me and I shall be happy to do so immediately. Or of course, if you wish to be given a missing credit for a photo I shall be very happy to oblige.
I am particularly grateful to the following for taking the trouble to provide me with corrections, further information or photographs.
Where they have websites of their own you can visit them by clicking on the name:
Roy Adcock, Cliff Ainsworth, Jean Ainsworth, John Aizlewood, Jerry Alderson, David Aley, Rod Allen, Steve Arnold, Rob Ashard, Phil Ashby, Glenn Aylett, Andy Backhouse, Steve Bailey, John Bain, Gary Bainbridge, Malcolm Baird, Ken Banwell, Jose Barbasa, Louis Barfe, Frank Barker, John Barlow, Christine Barnard, Rab Barnard, Robin Barrett, Warren Baxter, Malcolm Beattie, Roger Beckwith , John Bell, Brett Bentley-Leek, David Bertenshaw, Chris Billington, Alan Bird, Piers Bishop, Adrian Bishop-Laggett, Duncan Borrowman, Alex Bournat, Derek Brady, John Brady, Niall Brady, Alan Brett, Richard Broadhurst, Martin Brown, Roger Brunskill, Bob Buckler, Dave Buckley, Bill Bulford, Ivan Burgess, John Burgess, Paul Burton, Peter Byram, Guy Caplin, Billy Casper, Glen Cardno, Hannah Chambers, Giles Chapman, Selina Charles, Lorraine Cheek, Peter Christy , Adrian Church, Gary Clarke, Roy Clarke, Bruce Cocks, Anthony Collins, John Constable, Jeff Coote, Lester Cowling, Dan Cranefield, David Croxson, Brian Cuff, Robert Cunningham, Ray Cutler, Maurice Dale, Tony Dalton, James Daniel, Dudley Darby, John Darnell, Bernie Davis, Bob Davis, Tim Deane, Ben Dearing, Peter Dearing, Kevan Debonnaire, Howard Denyer, Martin Deutsch, Andy Dobbs, Alan Dobson, Dennis Donnelly, Derek Donoghue, Tim Dorney, George Douglass, Ian Dow, Euan Downing, Mike Du Boulay, Zuno Dunlop, Glyn Edwards, Mark Elliott, Chris Ellis, Simon Ellis, Mike Emery, Edwin Escobar, James Ewart, Victoria Ewart, Richard Fearne, Norman Fenner, David Ferris, Mike Fitch, Geoff Fletcher, Maurice Fleisher, Doug Ford, Adam Fowler, Roger Fox, Steve Fuller, Andrew Fullerton, Andrew Gannon, Brendan Gardiner, Phil Geeson, Jonathan Gibbs, Jeff Gibson, Alan Giles, Rick Glanvill, David Gledhill, Duncan Goddard, Nigel Godfrey, Joe Godwin, Matt Goodman, Alan Gowdy, Bruce Gowers, Richard Greenough, Dave Griffiths, Colin Grimshaw, Clive Gulliver, Matthew Hadley, Geoff Hale, Ian Hall, Andy Hame, Fred Hamilton, Peter Hammond, David Harper, Peter Harris, Richard Harris, Michael Harrison, Bob Hart, Ian Haskell, Jonny Haw, Martin Hawkins , Alan Hayes, Arthur Hayes, Paul Hayes, Margot Hayhoe, David Heeley, Andrew Hewkin, Hector Hill, Ian Hillson, Peter Hitchcock, Jeremy Hoare , John Hoare, Richard Holland, John Holmes, Charles Hope, David Hornsby, David Hounsell, Dicky Howett , Cliff Hughes, Gary Hughes, Mike Hughes, Ron Isted, Andrew James, Andy James, Rich James, Bill Jenkin, Nick Jenner, Mark Johnson, Barry Johnstone, Chris Jones, Mike Jones, Peter Jones, Richard Jones, Steve Jones, Linda Kaye, Steve Kelly, John King, Simon King, Martin Kisner, Gill Kivi, Michael Klaw, Roy Knight, Darren Knipe, Antony Koeller, John Latus, Michael Leader , Bill Lee, Russ Lee, Clive Leighton, Graham Le Page, Ken Levon, Heather Lewis, Oli Lifely, John Liffen, Ray Liffen, Stephen Livingston, Sydney Lopez, Frederick Lucas, James Lund, Aidan Lunn, Kieran McAleer, John McCafferty, Dick McCarthy, Jeff McCrory, Alan McIntosh, Anthony McKay, Tony McKay, Andrew McKean, Dave Markie, Alan Marsden, Paul Marshall , Mike Mason-Green, Howard Michaels, Paul Middleton, Peter Middleton, James Mitchell, Mitch Mitchell, Sam Morrison, Hugh Moules, Chris Mower, Leigh Mulpeter, Mark Mumford, Dave Mundy, Ed Nassour, Jeff Naylor, William Neale, Stephen Neil, Patrick Neill, Peter Neill, David Nelson, John New, Bernie Newnham, Garth Nicholson, John O’Brien, Andy Onion, Peter Orton, Keith G Palmer, Trevor Parkins, Chris Patten, Adam Paull, Nicholas Payne, George Peacock, Alan Pemberton, Richard Perry, David Petrie, Matt Phelps, Peter Piddock, Roger Pittman, Harvey Pope, Danny Popkin, Geoff Posner, Peter Price, Andrew Prince, David Rawsthorn, Bob Redman, Paul Reid, Mike Renshall, Patricia Rhodes, Phil Richards, Bob Richardson, Gary Richardson, Martin Rider, Graham Rimmington, Paddy Robinson-Griffin, Pete Rogers, Steve Rogers, Keith Rodgerson, Brian Rose, Mick Rose, Damian Ross, John Rossetti, Les Roworth, Alastair Roxburgh, Paul Round, Steve Rush, Colin Russell, Richard Russell, Phil Rutter, Nick Sanders, Peter Scott, David Scott-Cowan, Jane Scutt, Bob Scrivener, Jonathan Sellers, Steve Sharpe, Len Shorey, Alan Shubrook, Steve Simon, David Simmons, Pete Simpkin, Tim Smit, Tom Smit, Richard Smith, Nigel Southworth, Chris Stacey, Andy Stagles, Nick Stanbra, Philip Stevens, Duncan Stewart, Ian Stewart, Jane Stewart, John Stewart, Roderick Stewart, Richard Stibbons, Alan Stokes, Robin Stonestreet, Peter Stoughton, Charles Sturridge, Raphael Szynowski, Adam Tandy, Phil Tapp, John Tarby, Bob Taylor, David Taylor, Gerry Taylor, James Taylor, Paul Thackray, Mark Thackeray, Clint Thomas, David Thomas, Duncan Thomas, Peter Thurlow, Mark Tinkler, John Tomlinson, Rob Tompsett, Roger Tone, Courtenay Tordoff, Kevin Townsend, Catherine Trigg, Brian Turner, Tony Tyrer, Robin Vanags, Simon Vaughan, Paul Venner, Malcolm C Walker, Graeme Wall, Neil Wallace, Andy Walmesley, John Wardle, Peter Watson, Nick Way, Mark Webb, Dennis Weinreich, Martyn Welch, Paul Welsh, Rosemary Wenzerul, Mike While, Chris Whitehead, Keith Wilkinson, Neil Wilson, Kris Winser, Mark Williams, Steve Williams, Steve Williams, Barry Wilson, Roger Wilson, John Winn, Ronald Wolstencroft, Kevin Wood, Mike Wood, Clive Woodward, Andrew Wright, David Wright, Alan Yardley, Henry Young, Nicholas Young.
Clearly none of the above is responsible for any errors or opinions expressed on this website. Those are entirely down to me!
Each of the above has provided useful information but special mention must go to Richard Greenough. He was a BBC designer at Alexandra Palace and Lime Grove and in 1955 became head of design at ATV until they left Elstree in 1983. He provided me with a fascinating summary of his career and plans of all the studios he worked in. He also kept all the studio schedules from the first day of ATV at Foley Street and Wood Green to the last day at Elstree so had proof of when each studio opened and closed. This information has cleared up many confusions and helped me enormously! Sadly, Richard passed away in August 2010 but his lifetime’s work is certainly not forgotten.
Many thanks to those staffers who have provided me with information but asked that their names are not published. Also, I am especially grateful that so many people have contacted me and simply said they enjoyed reading the site. Thanks to you all for taking the trouble to write.
This website concentrates on the fabric of the studios themselves and only touches on the shows made in them. As a companion volume, may I recommend Louis Barfe’s excellent book on the history of British light entertainment – Turned Out Nice Again. It is extremely well researched, very easy to read and contains many anecdotes and stories all about the artistes and producers who occupied the studios mentioned here.
For further information you might like to go to the following websites which are not in alphabetical order – sorry:
BBC:
History of the BBC (official website)
BBC technical operations history site (unofficial anecdotes, stories and stills)
BBC VT history site (history of videotape in the BBC from Vera to digital. Some excellent images.)
BBC engineering info (unofficial site with recollections of BBC engineering from 1922 – 1997)
BBC TV from Alexandra Palace (unofficial site)
Old BBC Radio Broadcasting Equipment and Memories
Bob Taylor’s memories of his days as an engineer in BBC News
ITV:
Transdiffusion (network of several interesting sites – highly recommended!)
Twickenham Museum (includes history of Teddington Studios)
general TV history:
Timeline and brief history of broadcasting in the USA
Museum of the Broadcast Television Camera
History of Outside Broadcasts in the UK (unofficial site)
Baird Television (website run by the great man’s son)
Web page on history of John Logie Baird
British Film Institute – television history
RTS (site includes documents listing historical TV buildings)
Dinosaur TV – British black and white TV shows
Whirligig – 1950s TV nostalgia
Trumptonshire Web (unofficial site about all things Trumpton)
Rubovia (site about puppet master Gordon Murray)
The Big Breakfast – history site for fans of the show
New York’s Broadcasting History (recommended by young TV historian Dylan.)
Film studios:
The Studio Map (invaluable resource listing all film and TV studios in the UK and abroad.)
Elstree Screen Heritage (historical organisation)
Britmovie – the home of UK films
I would be grateful if you could let me know of any other sites that include interesting background material relating to the history of London’s TV studios. I have not listed links to all the studios’ own websites as they are very easily found using any good search engine. However, several do include historical information about their studios.
Bibliography
Cinema:
| MGM British Studios – Hollywood in Hertfordshire (2020) | Paul Welsh | Elstree Screen Heritage |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Bray Studios – the complete story of Hammer’s house studio (2018) | Wayne Kinsey | Peveril Publishing |
| MGM British Studios: Hollywood in Borehamwood (2015) | Derek Pykett | BearManor Media |
| British Film Studios (2013) | Kiri Bloom Walden | Shire Publications |
| The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (2010) | J W Rinzler | Aurum Press |
| Hammer Films – The Unsung Heroes (2010) | Wayne Kinsey | Tomahawk Press |
| The Hammer Story (2007) | Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes | Titan Books |
| The Pinewood Story (2006) | Gareth Owen with Brian Burford | Reynolds and Hearn |
| Shepperton Babylon – the lost worlds of British cinema (2005) | Matthew Sweet | Faber & Faber |
| Shepperton Studios – a visual celebration (2005) | Morris Bright | Southbank Publishing |
| Hammer Films – The Bray Studios Years (2002) | Wayne Kinsey | Reynolds And Hearn |
| British Film Studios (1995) | Patricia Warren | Batsford |
| Shepperton Studios – an independent view (1994) | Derek Threadgall | BFI |
| Elstree – the British Hollywood (1983) | Patricia Warren | Elm Tree Books |
| Movies From the Mansion – a history of Pinewood Studios (1976) | George Perry | Elm Tree Books |
| BFI Film and Television Yearbook 1988-89 | Patience Coster | BFI |
| BFI Film and Television Yearbook 1986 | Mundy Ellis | BFI |
| BFI Film and Television Yearbook 1983 | Mundy Ellis | BFI |
| The British Film and Television Yearbook 1968 | Peter Noble | British and American Film Press |
| The British Film and Television Yearbook 1967 | Peter Noble | British and American Film Press |
| The British Film and Television Yearbook 1961-62 | Peter Noble | British and American Film Press |
BBC studios:
The Exhibitions – Great White City, Shepherds Bush (2008 reprint to mark the 100th anniversary of the Franco-British Exhibition) | Donald R Knight | Barnard and Westwood/Print Mania |
|---|---|---|
Scenery Block, BBC TV Centre (magazine article published in August 1954.) | Graham Dawbarn and M T Tudsbery | The Architect and Building News |
Television Centre Stage V set of architect’s plans and drawings Oct ’85 | BBC architectural and civil engineering dept. | BBC |
The BBC Television Centre (published 1960) (book) | BBC | |
BBC Television Centre (published 1970) (pamphlet) | BBC | |
BBC Television Centre technical guide (1970) (pamphlet) | BBC | |
| History of BBC Television Centre (2001) | Guy Saitch | internal paper |
article in magazine – probably Wireless World, 27th May 1950) (includes proposed dimensions of TV Centre studios) | ||
| BBC Handbook 1958 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1959 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1960 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1961 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1962 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1963 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1964 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1965 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1966 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1967 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1968 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1969 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1970 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1971 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1972 | BBC | |
| BBC Handbook 1984 | BBC | |
| Enjoying Radio and Television (1954) | Robert Dunnett | Phoenix House |
| BBC Television Picture Book 1930-1950 | David Clayton | BBC |
| Television Jubilee – the story of 25 years of BBC Television | Gordon Ross | W H Allen |
| Twenty-five years of BBC Television (BBC Engineering) | Harold Bishop | BBC |
| Technical description – Open University, Alexandra Palace (1975) | K S Mossman | BBC |
| The Fantasy Factory – Lime Grove Studios 1915-1991 (1996) | Jocelyn Lukins | Venta Books |
| BBC Riverside TV studios – the architectural aspects (1957) | E A Fowler | BBC |
| BBC Riverside TV studios – aspects of technical planning and equipment | Nickels and Grubb | BBC |
| The Equipment of the BBC Television Film Studios at Ealing (1960) | N F Chapman | BBC |
| A History of the BBC’s Film Department (1983) | David Martin | |
| Inside BBC Television – A Year Behind the Camera (1983) | Ruth Rosanthal | Webb & Bower |
| Zoom In When You See The Tears – autobiography (2011) | Fred Hamilton | Fantom |
Eng Inf (BBC engineering quarterly newsletters) (1980 – 1990) | BBC |
ITV studios:
| ITV 1964 A Guide to Independent Television | ITA | |
|---|---|---|
| ITV 1968 A Guide to Independent Television | ITA | |
| ITV 1970 Guide to Independent Television | Eric Croston | ITA |
| ITV 1972 Guide to Independent Television | Eric Croston | ITA |
| ITV 1973 Guide to Independent Television | Eric Croston | ITA |
| ITV 1974 Guide to Independent Television | Eric Croston | IBA |
| ITV 75 Guide to Independent Television | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1977 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1978 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1981 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1982 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1983 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1984 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1985 | Eric Croston | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1986 | Mike Melaniphy | IBA |
| Television and Radio 1988 | Mike Melaniphy | IBA |
| Independent Television in Britain (1982) Vol 1 – 1946-62 | Bernard Sendall | IBA / Macmillan |
| Independent Television in Britain (1983) Vol 2 – 1958-68 | Bernard Sendall | IBA / Macmillan |
| Independent Television in Britain: ITV and IBA 1981-92: The Old Relationship | Paul Bonner, Lesley Aston | Palgrave / Macmillan |
| 25 Years on ITV 1955-1980 | ITV / Michael Joseph | |
| ITV: The People’s Channel – ITV 50 (2005) | Simon Cherry | Reynolds and Hearn |
| ITV Cultures – independent television over 50 years | Johnson and Turnock | OU |
From Dawn Till Dusk (2007) – a history of independent television in the Midlands | John W Pettinger | Brewin Books |
Television studio planning. (Papers from a symposium held by the Television Society at the IEE in 1963) | ABC TV / The Television Society | |
Teddington Studios – an overview (2005) (historical paper) | Morris Bright | |
| The Story of Teddington Studios (2002) | John Tasker | |
| Both Sides of the Camera (ABC TV – 1960) | Marie Donaldson | Weidenfeld and Nicolson |
| Anatomy of a Television Play (ABC TV – 1962) | John Russell Taylor | Weidenfeld and Nicolson |
A Tour of the ATV Television Theatres (article in ‘Practical Television’, January 1957) | ||
Emergency-Ward 10 souvenir booklet (1958) | Antony Kearey | ATV |
| ATV Television Star Book (1960) | Joan Griffiths | Purnell |
| ATV Television Show Book (1961) | Purnell | |
An Arabian Night – souvenir booklet on opening of Wembley studio 5 (1960) | Associated-Rediffusion | |
| Television – Behind the scenes in the television studios (1961) | Kenneth Ody | Associated Newspapers |
Chelsea Palace Music Hall (article in ‘Practical Television’, February 1958) |
Independent studios:
Spring Meeting at Limehouse (article in ‘Television Lighting’ magazine, 1984) | John O’Keefe and Ken MacGregor | Society of Television Lighting Directors |
|---|---|---|
Limehouse Studios (article fom ‘Building’ magazine – April 1984) | Anthony Williams | |
Limehouse Goes On Stream (article from ‘Professional Video’ October 1983) | Tim Leigh Smith | |
Limehouse Studios 1983-1989 RIP (article from ‘Zerb’ magazine Autumn 1989) | Martin Hawkins | Guild of Television Cameramen |
General television history:
| Greenfinger – The Rise of Michael Green and Carlton Communications (1996) | Raymond Snoddy | Faber & Faber |
|---|---|---|
| Mr Towers of London – a life in showbusiness (2013) | Harry Alan Towers | BearManor Media |
One Summer: America 1927 (2013) (includes history of early television pioneers but is also an excellent read!) | Bill Bryson | Black Swan |
| Turned Out Nice Again – the story of British light entertainment (2009) | Louis Barfe | Atlantic Books |
Television and Me (2004) – memoirs of Baird, edited by his son Malcolm | John Logie Baird | Mercat Press |
| John Logie Baird – A Life (2002) | Antony Kamm and Malcolm Baird | NMS Publishing |
Richard R Greenough – BBC 1948-1955, ATV 1955-1983 autobiographical paper summarising career as BBC designer and head of design at ATV (2004) | Richard Greenough | |
Adventure in Vision – the first 25 years of television (1950) | John Swift | John Leymann |
Coming to you Live – Behind-the-screen Memories of 40s and 50s TV (1985) | Denis Norden, Sybil Harper and Norma Gilbert | Methuen |
| 40 Years of British television (1992) | Harbord and Wright | Boxtree |
| The Penguin TV Companion (2006) | Jeff Evans | Penguin |
| The Television History Book (2003) | Michelle Hilmes | BFI |
| Old Television | Andrew Emmerson | Shire |
| Film and Television Parade (approx 1950) | Heirloom | |
| TV Mirror Annual 1956 | TV Mirror | |
| Television Annual for 1950/51 | Kenneth Baily | Odhams |
| Television Annual for 1957 | Kenneth Baily | Odhams |
| Television Annual for 1960 | Kenneth Baily | Odhams |
405 Alive (magazine articles published between 1989 and 2001) | Dicky Howett plus others | British Vintage Wireless Society |
The Bulletin (magazine of British Vintage Wireless Society – various editions) | various authors | British Vintage Wireless Society |
| Sixty Years of Light Work (2001) | Fred Bentham | Strand Lighting |
Most Secret War (1978) (description of the use of AP for jamming Luftwaffe radio signals) | R V Jones | Hamish Hamilton |
