| Limehouse Studios | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Limehouse Studios | |
| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Location | Canary Wharf,London,England,United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′13″N0°01′06″W / 51.50361°N 0.01833°W /51.50361; -0.01833 |
| Opened | Summer 1983 |
| Closed | Early 1989 |
Limehouse Studios was an independently ownedtelevision studio complex which opened in 1983 and was built in No. 10 Warehouse (30 Shed) of theSouth Quay Import Dock at the northern end of theIsle of Dogs inLondon. The building was demolished just six years later, in 1989, to make way for theOlympia & York development ofCanary Wharf which now occupies the site. The opening of the studios was commemorated with a programme calledCelebration which featured hostGary Wilmot and artists includingBonnie Langford.
Number 10 warehouse was built in 1952 for Fruit Lines Ltd, a subsidiary ofFred. Olsen Lines for theMediterranean andCanary Island fruit trade. At their request, the building was given the nameCanary Wharf after the Canary Islands. Fred Olsen moved operations to a new site atMillwall Docks in 1970.[1]
The conversion of the warehouse into TV studios was one of the first successes of theLondon Docklands Development Corporation. The studios were created as concrete boxes suspended within the immensely strong shell of the warehouse. In addition to the purpose-built studios, many productions made use of the unconverted old warehouse space.
At a cost of about £3.6m, and under the design of SirTerry Farrell, the warehouse was transformed into The Limehouse Studios; a complex containing two studios of 3,000 square feet (279 m2) and 6,000 square feet (557 m2) with associated production offices and post-production facilities. The two studios were contained in suspended concrete boxes mounted on independent giant springs to reduce external vibration, and fitted out.[1]
As one of the then few independent facilities in London, Limehouse was founded by a group of executives from the former ITV franchise holderSouthern Television after the company had lost itsITV franchise in 1980 toTelevision South (TVS). The new studios quickly became the venue of choice for many of the independent production companies making programmes for the newChannel 4. This was also helped by the popular hospitality boat moored alongside in the dock. Among the many programmes made at the studios at that time wereWho Dares Wins (1983–88);Treasure Hunt (1982–89), including a celebrity episode in 1985 where the studio itself was the final "treasure" location;Janet Street-Porter's youth television seriesNetwork 7 (1987–88), broadcast live from the unconverted parts of the warehouse building; andWhose Line Is It Anyway? (1988). The studios were also the home for the first nine series ofSpitting Image from 1984 to 1989, which was made by the then Birmingham based Central Independent Television company (now part ofITV Central) for ITV.[2] In 1985, American rock and roll legendCarl Perkins recorded a TV special at the studios, with special guests includingGeorge Harrison,Ringo Starr andEric Clapton.
In 1988, the building was sold toOlympia and York for £25m.[1] The site became part of the wider development ofWest India Docks and the developers decided to name the entire projectCanary Wharf using the more exotic and American-sounding name.One Canada Square now stands on part of the site cleared by the demolition of the former studios.
Following the purchase, the owners relocated the equipment to the formerLee International Studios atWembley, which itself had previously been used as television studios forAssociated-Rediffusion andLondon Weekend Television. The studios were purchased for a reported £5.25 million from Lee International and now called theFountain Studios (closed 2019), with a second smaller studio and post-production facility in the Trocadero in W1. The Limehouse name disappeared when the parent company Trilion collapsed three years later.
