All Creatures Great and Small

Photos by Janice Rider and others, no reproduction without permission.

The black and white group shot dates from the 1989 series of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’.  The other photos were taken by Janice Rider in her role  as costume designer, as records of what the actors were wearing in particular scenes, for continuity reasons, so that interiors recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill, would match with exteriors recorded in Askrigg, North Yorkshire.

‘All Creatures Great and Small’ was hosted at Pebble Mill.

The photos include Lynda Bellingham, Peter Davison, Robert Hardy, Christopher Timothy, John McGlynn (young actor in group shot), Andrea Gibb (played Deirdre) amongst others.

 

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Nagra – photos by Ian Collins

Photos by Ian Collins, no reproduction without permission.

Video editor Ian Collins took photos of various pieces of post-production technical kit before the fixtures and fittings of Pebble Mill were sold off in auction in Autumn 2004.

These photos are of a Nagra audio recorder. They were used in the PSC (portable single camera) edit suites until the 1990s. They were very rugged and reliable.

Please add a comment if you can add information about how the Nagras were used.

 

 

 

The following comment was made by recordist Murray Clarke about location Nagras: ‘Of course the Nagra 3 and 4s were the standard sound recording machine for location recordists for many many years before DAT became more common. I bought my mono Nagra 3 in 1971 for a cost of around £3200. I took it up to Yorkshire for a couple of episodes of all Creatures Great and Small – and it rained solidly for a fortnight!!!. My ‘over-qualified’ boom op and assistant was Dave Baumber, then the Dubbing Mixer at the newly-built Pebble Mill studios.’

Christopher Hall adds the following information: ‘This is a Nagra T. T for twin capstan. They had a computer controlled synchroniser which could chase timecode from the VT machine in an edit suite at high speed. I went on a factory course for these in the late 1980s. We spent a whole day learning how to repair the motors, and when we asked how long they usually lasted for a discussion in French and German revealed that they didn’t know because none had stopped yet!’

Paul Vanezis: ‘I tracklayed 10 episodes of ‘Chalkface’ and 8 episodes of ‘Specials’ on a Nagra T…’

Peter Poole: ‘This must be the finest tape recorder ever made. I spent ages trying to get film unit to buy one for the transfer suite. It never happened. But after seeing the price I could see why!’

Pete Simpkin: ‘Totally agree with you Peter……I used one to great effect recording a nightingale for a Radio Birmingham programme in the 70s. The standard reporter’s Uher was not up to the job and the simple version Nagra gave level control, mixing of two mics AND ‘off tape’ monitoring!’

All Creatures Great and Small – Janice Rider

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Specially shot interview with Costume Designer, Janice Rider, about working on the series ‘All Creatures Great and Small’.  The series was filmed on location in the Yorkshire Dales around Askrigg, and in Pebble Mill, Studio A.  It starred Christopher Timothy, as James Herriot, Robert Hardy, Peter Davidson and Carol Drinkwater.

The copyright of the photos remain with the original holders, who include Maggie Thomas, Janice Rider, and probably Willoughby Gullachsen.

Studio A Sound Desk – Peter Poole

Studio A Sound Desk
I took these photos about 1980. They show the Neve sound desk fitted with 48 channels. This enabled complex sound mixing for live and recorded programmes. Many drama and light entertainment programmes were produced in Studio A. They include ‘Howard’s Way’, ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ and many other dramas. Light entertainment  programmes include ‘Telly Addicts’, ‘Call My Bluff’ and the final series of ‘Pebble Mill at One’.
In 1997 a major refurbishment of Studio A started at a cost of £2.2 million.  The studio reopened in 1998 with vision and sound facilities which compered with the very best in the country. The new sound desk was a 60 channel Calrec Q series. However a few years later the studio was closed. This followed a decision by BBC senior management.
I visited Pebble Mill shortly after it’s closure. The studio doors were padlocked but I was able to have a look in the gallery. The new installation was superb. This together with Pebble Mill’s talented crews should have kept Studio A very busy. It’s such a shame that it closed after so little use.
Peter Poole

All Creatures Great and Small – photos by Kevin Lakin


Photos by Kevin Lakin, no reproduction without permission.

These photos are from ‘All creatures Great and Small’ I think from around 1989.. first pic John Kenway on camera… bloke in white shirt is Mike Brayshaw director… Barrie Foster camera assistant… then Bob Farr design… John Cole sound.. electrican, I don’t name… Girl in sunglasses is Helen Mays costume.

A funny thing happened at this location, there was a tapping all the way through the take, there a big inquest were the the tapping was coming from 2 takes were ruined cos this constant tapping, sound man was going crazy. till it was discovered … it was a Thrush with a snail in its beak, tapping the snail on a stone, trying to break the snails shell. 2nd pic is Mike Brayshaw the Director.
Kevin Lakin
(Murray Clarke (sound recordist) added the following comment about ‘All Creatures’: My first assignment as a freelance sound recordist was a fortnight’s filming on ACGS. I borrowed what was an awful amount of money (in those days) from the Bank to finance the purchase of a brand new Nagra 3 and a few microphones. It pissed down with rain for the whole of the two weeks and all the gear got very wet!! I was very upset!!!)

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