Building – Page 111 – What Was Pebble Mill?

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

‘Newcomers’ photo with some names from Kevin Lakin

The photo is of the 1960’s drama ‘Newcomers’, recorded at Gosta Green.

Myles Lang and Michael Edwards were from Design, Keith Bullock was from Lighting. Two back from Reg, white coast balding head, Fred Parsons, Lighting Electrician.

Thanks to Kevin Lakin, and Adrian Parsons for identifying some of the members of staff in the photo.
Please add a comment if you can identify others in it.

Studio B stripped down – photos by Philip Morgan

Photos by Philip Morgan, no reproduction without permission.

These photos were taken by Philip Morgan in November 2004, on the viewing days before the auction of Pebble Mill equipment, after the building was decommissioned, but before demolition.

The photos are of Studio B, which was the Midlands Today Studio, on the first floor, overlooking the courtyard.

Midlands & East News 1996

Thanks to Tim Manning for making this edition of ‘Midlands & East News’ from Aug 1996 available.

Interestingly some of the topics mentioned here seem as relevant today as back in 1996: re-organisation and re-structuring are perennial themes. The short articles at the end about trying to reduce working hours and introducing more flexible working never seemed to be widely implemented in production areas, despite the good intentions. The Asian Network was becoming more established in the mid 1990s, and the Asian Programmes Unit was an important part of production at Pebble Mill.

Film Sound Transfer Suite – Peter Poole

The Film Sound Transfer Suite

I took the first photo in 1976 shortly after joining the BBC. It shows me (Peter Poole) in the dubbing theatre’s machine room which housed the Perfectone SEPMAG bays. It was also used as the film sound transfer suite when time allowed. As the the number of programmes produced on film increased the dubbing theatre was in constant use. Also a dedicated transfer suite was needed to cope with the increased output. The second photo was taken in 1978 and shows me (Peter Poole) in the new transfer suite. The BBC’s policy was to buy British equipment if possible. This resulted in Pebble Mill being the first and probably the only BBC broadcast centre to buy PAG SEPMAG bays. They were somewhat unreliable. I will never forget pressing the stop button and watching a thousand feet of SEPMAG film being thrown across the room. I was very pleased when the PAG bays were replaced by Perfectone bays.

The photos were taken using a tripod and self-timer.

Peter Poole