Building    From 1924  To 1949

Gainsborough Film Studios

Categories: Cinema

Gainsborough Pictures was founded in 1924 by Michael Balcon. These Islington studios were closely related to those at Lime Grove, used by Gaumont-British, with Balcon as Director of Production for both.

The Islington studios were built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway and later converted to studios. 

The studio's opening logo, of a lady in a late 18th century costume, sitting in an ornate frame, and turning and smiling, was based on the 1785 portrait of Sarah Siddons by Thomas Gainsborough.

The studios were active 1924 - 49. However, the tall factory chimney was considered dangerous during the WW2 bombings, so Gainsborough Studios was evacuated to Lime Grove for the duration of hostilities.

These buildings were largely left derelict from 1949 until 2002 when their conversion into luxury flats began, completed in 2004.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Gainsborough Film Studios

Commemorated ati

Gainsborough Film Studios

Hackney owns up: "The plaque states that 'The Wicked Lady' was filmed at Gain...

Read More

Other Subjects

Ronnie Corbett

Ronnie Corbett

Actor and comedian. Born Ronald Balfour Corbett in Edinburgh. His career started in the theatre, particularly in cabaret with Danny La Rue. He came to national fame in BBC television's sketch show ...

Person, Cinema, Seriously Famous, Theatre, TV & Radio, Scotland

1 memorial
Rik Mayall

Rik Mayall

Actor, comedian and writer. Born Richard Michael Mayall in Epping. He was part of the 'alternative comedy' wave in the early 1980s, and appeared in 'The Comic Strip' and 'The Young Ones' and later ...

Person, Cinema, Humour, Theatre, TV & Radio

2 memorials
Chewbacca

Chewbacca

A character in the Star Wars series. He is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk, and is the loyal friend and first mate of Han Solo. He was portrayed in the films by the 7' 3" tall actor Peter Mayhew.

Person, Cinema, Fictional

1 memorial
Mary Millington

Mary Millington

Model and porn actor. Born Mary Ruth Quilter, she came to fame in the long-running soft-porn film 'Come Play With Me'. However, she soon found herself being replaced by younger models, which led to...

Person, Cinema

1 memorial
Roger Lloyd-Pack

Roger Lloyd-Pack

Actor. Born in Islington. For many years he was a relatively unknown stalwart with the Royal Shakespeare and National Theatre companies. It was in 1981 that he achieved national fame, playing the l...

Person, Cinema, Theatre, TV & Radio

1 memorial