Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden

Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is an 80 ha (200-acre) studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the East of England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film and media complex owned by Warner Bros. The studios were all converted from an aircraft factory and airfield called Leavesden Aerodrome, a centre of British aircraft production during World War II. The nearest railway station is King's Langley which is a walking distance of 1.3 miles (2.1 km). The studios contain approximately 50,000 m2 (540,000 sq ft) of flexible space which includes stage space, one of the largest filtered and heated stage-based water tanks in Europe, production office space, workshops and support buildings, along with an extensive 32 ha (79 acres) backlot which offers a 180-degree uninterrupted horizon, favourable for exterior sets. Following a £110 million refurbishment by Warner Bros., the studios are now one of the largest and most state-of-the-art filmmaking facilities in the world. Though the studios are owned by Warner Bros., all of the studio facilities are available to rent for any production. Since acquiring the site, Warner Bros. has opened a public attraction named Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, which receives over 6,000 visitors a day at peak times. The site maintains a secure studio space within the same complex.

History

Leavesden Aerodrome

Leavesden Aerodrome was an airfield created in 1940 by the de Havilland Aircraft Company and the Air Ministry in the village of Leavesden, between Watford and Abbots Langley, in Hertfordshire. Construction began in 1940 after the outbreak of World War II. The de Havilland company, who were based in nearby Hatfield, entered into a contract with the Air Ministry to produce what would become known as the Mosquito fast bomber aircraft. Space for the large scale hangars needed to produce the huge number of aeroplanes required was not available at de Havilland's Hatfield Aerodrome, so the Ministry of Supply requisitioned this new site in Leavesden, which was an empty plot of land at the time from the Watford Corporation, and it was developed into the complex that it is today. The construction was enormously expensive so parts of the site were leased to the London Aircraft Production Group and The Second Aircraft Group. Under Handley Page, another Hertfordshire-based aeroplane manufacturer contracted to the Air Ministry, these groups produced the Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber. As a result, by the end of the war Leavesden Airfield was, by volume, the largest factory in the world. The two planes were both critical successes for Britain during the conflict. Due to the high priority placed on aircraft production, large numbers of workers were drafted with little experience or training in aircraft production, with over half the workforce eventually being female. As part of constructing the aircraft factory an airstrip was created, first so the planes could be tested and later to deliver the craft to their final destinations. The runway and control tower still remain to this day, even after two major renovations, in an effort to preserve the site's history. The runway is now the main road through the complex and the tower is currently an observation lounge. After the war, the aerodrome was purchased outright by de Havilland, who themselves had a succession of owners in the following decades, including Hawker Siddeley from 1959, but ultimately they and the site were acquired by Rolls-Royce who continued production and design of helicopter engines. Under Rolls-Royce ownership the RTM322 engine for the UK Apache, Merlin and NH90 helicopters was designed, developed and produced at Leavesden as a joint venture with Turbomeca of France. The airfield was also used by commercial small business aircraft as the field is close to both the M1 and M25 motorways. However, by the early 1990s, Britain's manufacturing industry was in decline and Rolls-Royce had sold their interests in the site and transferred all work to their Bristol facility. Unable to find a new owner, by 1994 Leavesden Aerodrome was left disused and all but abandoned. The following units were here at some point:

No. 122 Gliding School RAF Coastal Command Communication Squadron RAF

Leavesden Studios In 1994, Eon Productions' James Bond film GoldenEye was to be the next film in the series. Pinewood Studios, their traditional home studio, was fully booked with other productions, not being prepared for the series' unexpected return (production had been delayed for several years due to legal issues between MGM and Eon Productions). Facing little time to find a space in which they could build the number of large scale sets required, the production discovered the unoccupied Leavesden. The wide, tall and open aircraft hangars were uniquely well suited to conversion into film stages. Eon leased the site for the duration of their shoot and went about gutting the factories, turning them into the stages, workshops and offices needed for a working film studio. This process is shown on the 2006 DVD's special features. Members of the production crew, impressed by the enormous size of the filmmaking complex they suddenly had to themselves, jokingly called Leavesden "Cubbywood" after Eon's long serving producer Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli. Leavesden Studios, as the site was rebranded by its owners, quickly became popular after filming of GoldenEye was completed. A succession of major feature films made use of the site; in 1997, the first of the Star Wars prequels, The Phantom Menace, and later Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

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