Where was the UK’s first movie studio built?
The United Kingdom has never been able to compete with the bright lights of Hollywood. When we think of the film industry, we see images of the Hollywood Sign and huge studios, red carpets and glamour; really, it’s the epitome of the so-called ‘American Dream’.
But cinema did not begin in America. While Ohio-born Thomas Edison made waves with his Kinetograph in the 1890s, it was Frenchman Louis Le Prince who made the first film, Roundhay Garden Scene, which he shot on a camera he patented before Edison’s Kinetograph. He might have been born in France, but this revolutionary moment for film actually took place in England, specifically Leeds.
England would play a vital role in the early development of the film industry; after all, some of the most important filmmakers and stars of the screen during cinema’s fertile years were British. Just look at Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock. Before these figures came along, though, some of the first-ever British filmmakers were trying to innovate the medium, and for that, they needed a place to shoot their movies.
While Edison might have made the world’s first film studio over in New Jersey (he just had to be first at everything), in the United Kingdom, the building’s designer, William L Dickson, would soon go on to build a studio for the burgeoning British film industry.
So, where was the United Kingdom’s first movie studio built?
It was established in 1898 in London’s Embankment Gardens, although little is known about this short-lived studio. Still, Dickson’s contribution was a massive moment in British cinema history, even if no one knows its exact spot. It was clearly a very central location, though, right near the Hotel Cecil, which actors would often stay in while performing at the studio.
It was actually an outdoor set-up, which aided the need for good lighting at a time when shooting with film stock was still in its infancy. Shooting outdoors was a filmmaker’s best bet to get the greatest exposure, although very early short films didn’t offer much in terms of evocative lighting choices or camera angles. Everything was pretty simplistic.
That same year, another studio was built in England, this time in Muswell Hill, courtesy of Robert Paul. Specifically located on Sydney Road, this is often considered the first proper film studio – not simply an outdoor stage. Other early studios included St Ann’s Well Gardens in Hove, where George Albert Smith made many short films and explored the concept of film editing.
Evidently, a select few eager British filmmakers were desperate to make moves towards developing this new and exciting medium, and it flourished in these unassuming studios. British cinema has long had a distinct identity, but soon Hollywood came knocking in the 1910s, becoming the central hub for filmmaking instead.
In 1911, the Nestor Film Company became the first Hollywood studio, which could be found on the iconic Sunset Boulevard, while Paramount and Universal Studios would establish themselves the following year. Cinema was only just beginning, but don’t forget that before Hollywood took the crown, Britain was working hard to pioneer the business. Sadly, such a tiny island just couldn’t keep up in the end.
