Carol Ganniclifft – What Was Pebble Mill?

Tom’s Midnight Garden

These photos are from the serialisation of Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce. I think this is from the three part adaptation which was transmitted in January 1974 on BBC 1.

The photographs were originally shared on the Pebble Mill Engineers Facebook group.

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Tim Dann: ‘If memory serves me correctly…I was the Design assistant…Location was I think, ‘Abbotswood’ in the Cotswolds near Stowe on the Wold. It was used primarily for its wonderful gardens. With no interiors used. Make-Up assistant was Carol Churchill…(known at PM as Carol Ganniclifft)…& the Director was Dorothea Brooking…..Memory has now ‘crashed!’..I seem to remember there was a lot of messing about in boats!

All Memories Great and Small – part 7, Carol Churchill

Photo of All Creatures Great and Small set in Studio A, by Tim Savage. No reproduction without permission.

Here is the latest excerpt from “All Memories Great & Small” – by Oliver Crocker.

This time, it is the memories of Carol Churchill (née Ganniclifft) (Make-up Artist):

‘I’d joined the BBC in 1973. I had heard they were looking for make-up artists at Pebble Mill and I thought it sounded interesting so I applied and I got the job – though when I applied, I really had no idea what it was! My mother had a hairdressing salon, so I had that skill, because in television you needed to do both. They sent me to London for a course for three months and then I was up and running. I feel very sad for the girls today because it is so hard to get into it and they have to pay for their training now, which for the same course I did is about £9,000, so not everyone can afford it.’

60 cast and crew have shared their memories for this new book, which is available to preorder now from Miwk – http://bit.ly/2d7p5ts

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Richard Burn: ‘Great to see this set again, first programme I ever worked on in television. I did the pre-production sign design for Darrowby and packaging and signage for the Dispensary, I had never heard of set dressing before then.’

Andy Frizzell: ‘Ha! First studio drama I ever worked on. Bob Gell was TM1 (lighting director nowadays) the hands on the clock in the hall were held on with blue tack.’

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Live from Pebble Mill – Cargo Kings

Copyright resides with the original holder, probably Willoughby Gullachsen; no reproduction without permission. Thanks to Janice Rider for making the photographs available.

‘Cargo Kings’ was a live play produced at Pebble Mill in 1983 in Studio A, when Robin Midgley was Head of Drama.

The BFI Database describes the storyline thus:

‘Roger Savage, an anthropologist, visits at remote island, where the natives, Mambu, Baku and Abode learn about an obscure cargo cult from him. Soon they are in London putting Savages ideas into practice.’ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/161953

The script was written by Stephen Davies, directed by Donald McWhinnie, Dawn Robertson was the production associate, with Will Hartley the production manager. Roger Gregory was the script editor. Ian Ashurst was the production designer, with Janice Rider the costume designer and Carol Ganniclifft the make up designer. Bob Hubbard was the camera supervisor, lighting was by Barry Hill, and Annette Martin was the vision mixer.

The play starred Jeffrey Kissoon as Baku, Norman Beaton as Mambu, Michael Cochrane as Roger Savage, Christopher Asante as Obode and Ray Smith as Chief Inspector Beltrap.