1984 – 1995
Located a few hundred yards downstream of Tower Bridge on the south bank of the river, these studios were in their day the largest in London, covering 3.25 acres. They were originally a Spillers’ dog biscuit factory – no, really – and began with 4 stages, increasing to 7 by the time they closed. Apparently, the empty factory was used as a location for a pop video and the makers realised that the buildings would make great film stages until redevelopment took place – as still occasionally happens today. In fact this temporary use went on for 11 years.
The stages at Jacob Street were as follows:
A: 13,500 sq ft, B: 6,500 sq ft, C: 1,800 sq ft, D: 2,500 sq ft, E: 2,000 sq ft, F: 2,000 sq ft, G: 1,800 sq ft.
Several highly regarded feature films were shot here either entirely or partly including Highlander (’86) with Christopher Lambert, Personal Services (’87) with Julie Walters and Prick up Your Ears (’87) with Vanessa Redgrave, Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina. Other movies included Biggles – Adventures in Time (’86), The Krays (’90), The Cement Garden (’93), The Young Americans (’93), and Different For Girls (’96).
Jacob St was used to make pop videos, commercials and several TV dramas. Best known of these was LWT’s London’s Burning. This was based on the 1986 TV movie written by Jack Rosenthal. It ran from 1988 – 2002 and there were 171 episodes. The original fire station featured is on Wolseley St in London and was opposite the Jacob St Studios. When the studios closed another fire station was used. The Comic Strip 2 was also filmed here.
In May 1995 The Pretenders recorded a concert here for TV. This was probably the last use of the studios before they were demolished. A large residential development called Providence Square now stands on the site.
The area the studios were located in has a dark history. Around the end of the 19th century it was known as Jacob’s Island and consisted of slum properties, warehouses and industrial buildings. These included a lead mill, iron works and a jam factory. There was a network of mill streams, surrounded by a filthy ditch 20 feet wide when the tide was in. In Dickens’ day its reputation was so grim that he used it as the setting for Bill Sykes’ death in his novel Oliver Twist. It was in 1905 that the Spillers factory was built that would later become the film studios. The factory originally made ships’ biscuits for the Navy, later of course they were more famous for their dog food.