In 1926, Producer Archibald Nettlefold purchased
the defunct Cecil Hepworth studio Walton-on-Thames
and changed the name to Nettlefold Studios. He brought his production company,
Anglia Films, which he had founded in 1923 and contracted with Butchers
Film Service for distribution.
In 1930, Nettlefold installed sound equipment
and leased the studios out to independent production companies. Like other
smaller British studios, Nettlefold quickly became a location for independent
producers to make quota quickies. These were backed by American production
companies who had hundreds of films to unload and couldn't unless they shared
the bill with a British film.
By 1932, Nettlefold claimed to be the first
British studio to install the new high-fidelity recording system, making
it very popular to American studios like Paramount and United Artists.
In 1937, Nettlefold bought The Croft, which was an
adjacent property and built a new stage and new sound stage.
At the beginning of World War II, the Ministry of
Works requisitioned Nettlefold, along with many other British studios, to
help with the war effort. Nettlefold was used by Vickers-Armstrong Aircraft
as a factory to supply parts since aircraft factories were a prime target
for bombing. Vickers-Armstrong build 2 hangars on the property which were
used for filming after the war.
Archibald Nettlefold died in 1944 during the war.
After the war ended, the Nettlefold estate sold the property to Ernest G.
Roy who re-opened it in 1947 boasting 3 sound stages.
Operations resumed with leasing
the studios out to independent production companies and remained steady
until they fell victim to the declining market primarily due to the influx
of television in the 1950s.
Nettlefold closed their doors in
1961 and the buildings demolished.
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