available from 2024
The Story Collective is a production company founded in 2021 by Helen Jackson, Damien Keogh and Simon Vaughan. They were commissioned by Disney+ to make Steven Knight’s 12-part drama series A Thousand Blows, starring Stephen Graham. Seeking a suitable location, they chose 22 acres of the old Mortlake Brewery site in south west London. It offered space to create two sound stages and Victorian buildings ideal for exterior scenes. An exterior set of East End streets and docklands was also constructed. This remains standing in expectation of a second series. The first season was filmed from March to December 2023.
The lease that was signed for the use of the buildings was ‘for the foreseeable future.’ Damien Keogh and Simon Vaughan realised that these facilities would be ideal for other productions too, so in April 2024 they announced their availability. According to press reports, a ‘major film sequel’ was due to start filming from summer 2024. Screen Daily revealed this to be Downton Abbey 3.
Damian Keogh is quoted as saying:
“As producers we have spent the last two years road testing this unique, romantic, historic site and it has been rewarding for all involved. Cast and crew, so many of whom live nearby, have been able to live balanced lives whilst delivering their very best work. The space is substantial and flexible, but it has a magic quality due to its heritage that has captured all of our imaginations. We can’t wait to welcome new projects to this special home from home.”
Kwame Kwei-Armah, a director at The Story Works and outgoing artistic director of The Young Vic, said:
“The vision of turning a historic, derelict brewery into such a vibrant creative space, right in the heart of London, is thrilling and important. Apart from the brilliant stories that will be crafted here, this will inspire our next generation of storytellers to have a sense of ownership, to think and dream at their multi disciplinary optimum, despite the messages often to the contrary.”
The studios have two well-insulated sound stages of 17,480 and 8,120 sq ft. There are 24,000 sq ft of workshops and plenty of production office space. There is also a ‘bone yard’ suitable for constructing exterior sets and plenty of space for crew parking. These studios seem ideal for a high end drama series to be based here, especially if it will be using locations in and around London.
image thanks to The Story Works
The site has a planning application from developers that proposes the demolition of most of the buildings, to be replaced by blocks of flats of varying sizes. There will also be some offices, a secondary school, a hotel, a cinema and shops. The application was submitted in March 2022 and was granted with certain conditions in July 2023. Because of its size, the decision will have to be approved by the GLA under its Stage Two review. This development will obviously affect the use of the buildings as film studios but it is clear that the current owners expect to be there for some time to come.
The brewery has an interesting history. According to Tony Crosby:
In January 2009 InBev announced that they intended to close the Stag Brewery in Mortlake, London. As well as the loss of about 200 jobs, this closure brought to an end over 500 years of brewing on this site. The brewery dates from 1487 when it was attached to a monastery and brewed for the local abbot and his monks, before becoming a substantial commercial brewery in 1765. Charles James Phillips took over the brewery in the 1840s, and he and James Wigan redeveloped it in 1869. They created the sprawling 100 acre site which remains today. In June 1888 it was registered as More & Co Ltd and sold to Watney & Co Ltd in 1889 when it was renamed Phillips More & Co Ltd.
The brewery was renamed the Stag Brewery in 1959 following the closure of Watney’s brewery of the same name in Westminster. Watney produced their first keg beer here in the 1930s – ‘Red Barrel’, rebranded as just ‘Red’ in the 1960s. They sold their business to Courage which became part of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, who leased the site to Anheuser-Busch to brew Budweiser in London. They merged with InBev which created a company with more capacity than was needed at a time of declining demand for lager.
Brewing of Budweiser moved to South Wales in 2015 and the brewery closed. The site was bought by Reselton Properties Ltd. Before The Story Collective moved in, it was used as a filming location by several productions including Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
