Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne on 10 June 1971, and in addition to the studios contained two canteens, a post office, gardens, a seven-storey office block, and an outside broadcasting (OB) base.
As well as being the home of Midlands Today and BBC Radio WM, programmes produced at Pebble Mill included Pebble Mill at One, The Archers, Top Gear, Doctors, Telly Addicts, Howards' Way, Juliet Bravo and Gardeners' World.
Pebble Mill Studios closed in 2004 and was demolished in September 2005; BBC Birmingham is now located in The Mailbox shopping complex in Birmingham city centre.
Early history
In the 1950s, BBC Midlands was based in offices on Carpenter Road, Edgbaston. The news studio was in a separate building in Broad Street, which remained in operation until 1971. In the same complex, the studios also recorded drama productions in the former Delicia Cinema in Gosta Green. Over time, these studios were too small for the expanding region and were hampered by being spread out across Birmingham.
A change in BBC policy created the BBC Regions, based in Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast. These locations were created as 'National Production Centres', to produce television and radio productions for the areas in which they covered. Pebble Mill was designed to be an addition to London's Wood Lane Television Centre (TVC or TC).
The lease for the site was acquired from the Calthorpe Estate on a peppercorn rent by the BBC. Plans for Pebble Mill were approved in 1967. This followed construction of the studios, which was designed by John Madin,[1] founder of the John Madin Design Group.
The site was built by Taylor Woodrow Construction.[2]
Television facilities
The original plan was to have a light entertainment studio (A) a regional news studio (B) and a drama studio (C) which was to be similar in size to TC6 at Television Centre.[3]
Studio A
Studio A was the main studio 5538 sqft (78 ft × 71 ft within fire lanes) in size, with three separate control rooms looking onto the studio floor: a production gallery, a joint vision/lighting gallery and sound control gallery.
The studio opened with EMI 2001 cameras and was host to many programmes from London and locally produced programmes. Around 1982 the studios were rebuilt with more modern equipment and A was equipped with Link Electronics Ltd five 125 colour cameras and a pair of Ikegami HL79D portable cameras. The studio also found itself with a Grass valley Group 1600 series vision mixer and a Rank Strand Galaxy lighting console.
During the early 1990s, the BBC technical resource department toured the UK's other BBC, ITV and Channel 4 studios to find new cameras to replace the ageing Link Electronics Ltd 125 colour cameras. Sony Broadcast BVP-370 and 70Isp's were chosen following a side-by-side shoot-out from all the big-name manufacturers and against the advice of the London head of engineering. Also, during this period all asbestos was removed from the studio, gallery spaces and the air plant.
Post production, design, costume and make-up
Post production
The centre was also home to the largest and most advanced BBC post-production departments outside London, including six VT edit suites, two dubbing suites, a small viewing screen and a multitude of Avid non-linear suites. Following the 1983 refit a vast Graphics centre was opened in the old site of TAR and contained Aston caption generators, Rank Cintel Slide Files, Quantel Paintbox and Harry's and other graphic systems.
Costume
The Wardrobe/Costume department had its home in the studios central basement area just below the long glazed front window. There was a large work room with another work room containing cutting tables and sewing machines. There was also an office with several dressing rooms either side. There were also several large extras dressing rooms in the basement.
Design
Production Design Department had design offices in the central tower block until moving in the early 1990s to a new extension on spare land (originally intended for the early Light Entertainment Studio C) next to the road to the rear car park.
Communications and signals
Pebble Mill formed part of the BBC's communications and transmission backbone. London's BBC Television Centre (TVC) had primary responsibility for most of the BBC's transmitted output and day to day transmission switching and presentation.
Pebble Mill was the Midlands Central Switching and Monitoring Centre, and would route national channels (two television, four national radio and local radio) to the Midland transmitters at Sutton Coldfield, Ridge Hill and The Wrekin and to other parts of the UK as well as acting as a national back up to TVC in case of emergencies.
Outside broadcast – television and radio
In the late 1960s to the early 1990s, Pebble Mill had a fleet of 'Links' or scanner vehicles that were used to relay vision signals from outside broadcasts (OBs) back to the Communications Centre or 'Comms Centre' before being redistributed to London. All audio signals were sent via copper cable (Post Office/BT land lines). When satellite transmission of picture signals began in the mid-1990s, Pebble Mill gained satellite dishes and had fibre optics installed as permanent links to Birmingham's BT tower.
Pebble Mill had several scanner vehicles possibly dating back to World War II when it was a Royal Air Force (RAF) term for mobile radar vehicles which the GPO and BBC used after the war.[4]
During the 1970s 'Comms Centre' was located in the 'Foyer' at Pebble Mill, but by the 1990s, Comms moved around the corner in the studio and was situated in the link area between Radio and TV.
Television
CMCR9 (Colour Midland 1)
CMCR9 was a Colour Outside Broadcast Unit built by PYE Electronics. This was a four camera vehicle and had a complement of 4 X Philips cameras.
Sound and radio
Local radio
The centre was responsible for a large output into mainstream network radio and was also home of the local radio station Radio WM. WM had studios on the first floor linking the Comms centre and the news room.
Radio studios
The two radio studios and Local Radio Operations Room overlooked the central courtyard and between them provided all of Radio WM's production base for 35 years. In addition to WM the complex also had some of the finest sound studios outside of Broadcasting House in London.
Studio 1
Studio 1 was the main music studio at Pebble Mill with enough space to accommodate a full symphony orchestra. Initially it was used for sound recording sessions plus twice-weekly live broadcasts for Radio 3's lunchtime concerts. However, as well as radio this studio was equipped with a basic lighting grid and was used in its early years for the occasional television programme. The studio lighting was controlled from gallery 'C' from the summer of 1983.
However, John Birt's 'Producer Choice' agenda in the early 1990s forced Pebble Mill to charge unrealistic rental rates for the studio and made Studio 1 too expensive for radio use.
Programmes
BBC Birmingham and BBC Midlands, from their initial conception, were to provide local interest and national programme output for the Midland Region. Over Pebble Mill's 35 years of operation the studios produced some of the BBC's most iconic programmes and was second to Television Centre for total output. The following is a small list of the total programme output of the complex. There were many single and short run documentaries, OBs and pilots which have come and gone over the years many of which will never be remembered.
Radio
Pebble Mill housed Radio West Midlands (Radio WM) but also produced programming for Radio 2, 3 and 4. Most of Radio 4's 1990s dramas came from Pebble Mill. Radio programming included over the years Woman’s Hour, The Ed Stewart Show on Sunday afternoons. The Richard Bacon Show, live Saturday and Sunday nights on Radio 5. Radio 2’s specialist popular music shows such as Best of Jazz, Paul Jones, Stuart Maconie’s Critical List and Radio 2's Through the Night, presented by Janice Long, Alex Lester and Mo Dutta. The world's longest running radio soap, The Archers, was produced in Studio 3.
Television
News and documentary
News and documentary programming included Midlands Today, the midlands region news programme,
Closure of Pebble Mill and move to The Mailbox
Due to problems with the lease and to changes in the way television was produced, as well as the fact that some sections of the building were suffering from concrete cancer, the BBC made the decision to relocate to new facilities. Most departments moved to The Mailbox in Birmingham City Centre, but the drama department went to the newly created BBC Drama Village at the Selly Oak campus of the University of Birmingham. The Mailbox has facilities intended to replicate the functionality of Studios 3, 5 and 6, as well as the M3 & M4 editing facilities.[7] The transfer was completed on 22 October 2004, 33 years after Pebble Mill opened.
Remaining fixtures, furniture and technical equipment were auctioned off at Pebble Mill a few weeks later. The studios were demolished the following summer, with developers at the time planning to build a technology and science park on the site. Instead, construction of a new Birmingham Dental Hospital started there in 2014,[8] and the facility opened in 2016.[9] On another part of the site, a hospital was built for Circle Health
External links
- Nostalgia site
- Labi Siffre - It Must Be Love (Official HD Music Video) filmed at Pebble Mill as part of Pebble Mill At One on 10 May 1984, in which the singer walks around the exterior and interior
References
- Madin, John. John Madin - Architect & Planner. An Illustrated record p. 58^
- Middlesex County Times Friday 18 December 1970, page 6^
- Sparks, R.A. A.R.I.B.A., F.R.S.A., REGIONAL STUDIO CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM. BBC ENGINEERING, No. 87, July 1971 p. 3^
- Louise Willcox. Goodbye Pebble Mill