Martin Fenton – What Was Pebble Mill?

The Curse of Doctors – Martin Fenton

Martin Fenton notes the frustrating realism of continuing drama:

“I’ve recently remembered two incidents which might as well be called ‘The Curse of Doctors’.

I had very little money on me on my first day at Pebble Mill, but it was alright because I’d noticed a cash machine in the front wall of Pebble Mill when I went for my interview. As you all undoubtedly know, it was a blank, installed for Doctors. Louise Willcox generously lent me a tenner just so I could get some sustenance at the tea bar. I was so embarrassed – on my first day, too!

A couple of years later, I moved to the south end of Selly Oak. I’d noticed The Mill Health Centre on Bristol Road, and made a mental note to go and register there the following Monday morning.”

You can guess the rest.

(Martin Fenton)

I don’t think you are alone Martin, in wanting to register at The Mill Health Centre, from talking to a couple of the Doctors’ team, I understand that a few older ladies have also thought it looks like a very nice G.P.’s surgery!

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Radio studio area

Photographs by Martin Fenton, no reproduction without permission.

These photographs show some of the network radio area at Pebble Mill. The first photo is of the artistes’ seating area between Studios 3 and 5. This area was often frequented by the cast of The Archers. The second photo shows the corridor down to the Studio 3 control room, and the last photo is of the doors from Studio 3. Studio 3 was the main radio drama studio, and where The Archers was recorded, as well as other Radio 4 dramas.

Martin Fenton took the photos in autumn 2003.

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Studio 3, Living Room set

Photo by Martin Fenton, no reproduction without permission

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This photo is of a living room set up in Radio Studio 3 at Pebble Mill. This is the studio where The Archers was recorded.

The set up is pretty minimal. There is a tea towel, or similar, in the foreground, which is presumably a prop for the a scene.

Martin Fenton took the photo in autumn 2003.

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Studio 3 Doorbells

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These were the doorbells used on The Archers and other radio dramas which were recorded in Radio Studio 3. Any doorbell would do – as long as it was a Friedland one! I expect that Friedland were very happy to donate a demonstration board to the BBC, although I’m sure that the castors were a BBC addition, to make it easy to move around.

Thanks to Martin Fenton, who took the photo at Pebble Mill in 2003.

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

Andy Walters: ‘I’m sure that’s still in the Archers studio with labels as to which bell is for which house.’

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Studio 3 door

This photo shows the ‘door’ from Radio Studio 3 at Pebble Mill. The door would have been used to create effects on Radio 4’s The Archers, as well as other radio dramas. The mini door is on castors so that it could be wheeled around to wherever in the studio it was needed, and is a box construction. It contains all the parts on a door that would make a distinctive sound: a turning key, and knob, and a door chain.

Thanks to Martin Fenton for sharing the photograph, which he took in 2003.

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

Jane Green: ‘On my way back from the bar after a hard morning’s PM@1. Was hijacked by a radio person and asked to scrunch my feet on a tray of gravel.’

Stephen Lyons: ‘ I remember well the similar one at BBC Wales Radio where I worked on Schools Radio programmes over many years.’

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Notice the stairs in the background. They had 3 different finishes on each tread. Plus at the top of the flight they had several items of door furniture.’

Angela Padgett: ‘Seen them in the Mailbox on the Behind the scenes at BBC Tour. They’re still being used.’

Ruth Kiosses: ‘I once took in my brothers Elizabethan armour for the sound department (Donald McDonald) to record for some drama. I’m sure clanging baking trays would have been the same? But they wanted authenticity.’

Colin Pierpoint: ‘I don’t know who made it. You can see the original door in the photo which was built in to the stairs f/x (extreme top right). The problem was that it had such a large selection of locks, catches and levers that to open the door required at least 8 hands! The portable one appeared later and I suspect it was to overcome the 3 extra staff required to open the original door.’

Carolyn Davies: ‘Didn’t it used to be brown?’

Kathryn Shuttleworth: ‘All the box doors were painted and the screens refurbished for the move to The Mailbox. We had the sash window from under the staircase mounted into a box too. All still in use, they don’t make ’em like that any more!’

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