Leavesden Studios - Chronology
Year |
The Studio |
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| 1939 | Leavesden Aerodrome was originally owned by the Ministry of Defence and used during World War II for the manufacture of Mosquito and Halifax aircraft. It was known as the De Havilland factory. | |
| 1941 | In 1941 Leavesden Aerodrome was being battered by gale force winds when an RAF corporal tried to open the doors of number 2 hanger. The door was operated by a chain which was attached to a ratchet and as he tried to open it an especially strong gust of wind blew it down on top of him. Later, on windy nights, his ghost walked the area around the hanger and the chains, which had long gone, were still heard. (from Luton Paranormal website) Now the hangars have gone, leaving the massive factory buildings to house the sound stages and production offices of the studios. | |
| 1945 | After the end of World War II, the factory was used by Rolls-Royce for the manufacture of helicopter engines. |
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| 1993 | Rolls-Royce ended a long history of manufacturing at Leavesden, leaving the site unused. They had plans to turn it into a golf course and a hotel until fate intervened... |
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| 1994 | Around November 1994, Production Designer Peter Lamont was in pre-production for the James Bond film GoldenEye. As Pinewood Studios was all booked up, as well as designing the sets, he was given the task of building an entire film studio to house them, utilising the 1 million square foot floor area of the former Rolls Royce factory at Leavesden Aerodrome. As Eon Productions was only leasing the site from Rolls Royce, only work required for the production was carried out. | |
| 1995 | In 1995 the site was purchased by Malasian-based Millennium Group (for almost £43million) with the intention of developing a Universal Studios/Disneyland style attraction and putting £150million into the development of a permanent film studio. | |
| 1999 | In July 1999 MEPC purchased 14 acres then in September 1999 they bought a further 85 acres to develop a business park, ending the possibility of a theme park on the site. | |
| 2000 | BT signed up for the first 3 buildings in the business park effectively ending the plans to develop a theme-park style attraction on the site. | |
| 2001 - present | Production work continues at Leavesden. Due to the intense public interest in the Harry Potter films and their stars, the entire studio complex is a "Closed Set" and is not open to any public tours. The only people who can access the studio are cast and crew on the films. | |
| Sources: http://www.mepc.co.uk/leavesdenpark/AboutUs/History.aspx The Independent, November 7 1995 |
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