The Boathouse, Twickenham

The Boathouse
General information
Type	Business
Architectural style	1960s
Location	Twickenham, London, England
Technical details
Structural system	Cavity wall
Floor count	2

The Boathouse is a business and residential property located at Ranelagh Drive, Twickenham, England, which houses music and film studios.

Description

The Boathouse is built on on an island on the south-west bank of the River Thames and is within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the St. Margaret's Estate Conservation Area. It adjoins the Thames Path and features views of the Richmond Lock and the Old Deer Park.

The structure is two-storey with about 6400 square feet of interior space, and the site includes about 12,900 square feet (0.3 acres) of land. The studios and control rooms are sound-proofed and air-conditioned with raised wood-strip flooring that provides concealed cable runs. The building is of cavity wall construction with brick veneer and has a hipped roof of interlocking concrete tiles. Parts of the upper storey are covered with faux timber panels. The property includes a paved terrace on the first floor level, a glazed conservatory on the north side, a double garage and additional parking and a garden with paved walkways. The side of the property adjoining the public road and walkway is walled. A Dutch barge which is outfitted as a floating studio called Grand Cru was previously moored at the property, connected by a gangway.^[1]

History

Pete Townshend performs during a concert at Oceanic Studios in The Boathouse, December 2005

The property was previously known as Dick Waite's Boathouse,^[2] and was built in the late 1960s as part of a redevelopment of Sims' Boatyard, a builder of racing boats. The structure originally provided meeting rooms, commercial film and recording studios, offices and residential quarters for use of the boatyard. The building was dilapidated in 1976 when Pete Townshend of The Who bought it from Bill Sims^[3] and remodeled it to house his Eel Pie Studios.^[4] Townshend and Delia de Leon, a disciple of Meher Baba, started the Meher Baba Film Archive at the studios in the 1970s under the name Meher Baba Oceanic Centre.^[5][6] The film archive moved from The Boathouse to Norwich, Norfolk, in 1990.^[7]

Eel Pie Studios was already in business at 45 Broadwick Street when Townshend bought the new building. Although operation of the company took place at both locations, the studios in The Boathouse later became known as Oceanic Studios.^[8] The studios were occupied by the band Cocteau Twins in the 1990s, who called it September Sound, and also the band Lightning Seeds. Townshend sold the property in 2008;^[9] however, he retained ownership of the Dutch barge.

References

1. ^ "The Boathouse". Pereds Independent Property Consultants. http://www.pereds.com/cms/uploads/brochures/The-Boathouse-Twickenham.pdf. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
2. ^ Collins, Phil; Banks, Tony; Gabriel, Peter; Rutheford, Mike; Hackett, Steve (18 September 2007). Genesis: Chapter and Verse. 
3. ^ "Obituary - Bill Sims". 
4. ^ Wilkerson, Mark (2006). Amazing Journey: The Life of Pete Townshend. 
5. ^ "Meher Baba Film Archive International". http://www.meherbabafilm.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
6. ^ Neill, Andrew; Kent, Matthew (2009). Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the Who 1958-1978. 
7. ^ "Meher Baba Film Archive International". http://www.meherbabafilm.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
8. ^ "Eel Pie Studios". http://www.philsbook.com/eelpie.html. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
9. ^ "Lightning Seeds biography". http://www.lightning-seeds.co.uk/biography.htm. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 

External links

• Photo tour of the studios
• Exterior and floor plans
• Exterior from the Richmond Lock and Footbridge at low tide
• Townshend records at Oceanic Studios

Coordinates: 51°27′45″N 0°19′08″W / 51.46249°N 0.31891°W / 51.46249; -0.31891