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The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
campus, Broadcasting House Bristol, is located on
Whiteladies Road Whiteladies Road is a main road in Bristol, England. It runs north from the Victoria Rooms (Bristol), Victoria Rooms to Durdham Down, and separates Clifton, Bristol, Clifton on the west side from Redland, Bristol, Redland and Cotham, Bristol, C ...
,
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
. The first building to be occupied was 21/23 Whiteladies Road, which was built in 1852 and is a Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, with four
radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...
s. It was formally opened by the Lord Mayor of Bristol on 18 September 1934. The BBC has been on the same site ever since. Prior to the opening of Broadcasting House, the BBC had provided a more limited service. It began broadcasting on 13 February 1923 from Marconi House in the Strand. Operating as its 5WA station (this being the fifth BBC station to go on air) the new station broadcast to people living within 25 miles of Bristol. The station's initial output was very limited and even in 1931 the programme centre employed a staff of just three people, operating from a small studio over the Midland Bank in Queen's Road.


Main site

Since first opening, Broadcasting House has grown to incorporate 25, 27/29, 31/33, (all also Grade II listed) and 33A&B Whiteladies Road, as well as nos 1, 3, 5, 7/9, 11/13, 15/17 and 19 Tyndall's Park Road. It now provides offices and technical facilities for the BBC Radio & Music Production Bristol,
BBC West BBC West is one of the BBC's English Regions serving Bristol, Somerset, the majority of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and north of Dorset. Services Television BBC West's television service (broadcast on BBC One) consists of the flagship regio ...
and
BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC's local radio station serving the cities of Bristol and Bath and the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC ...
. Network radio studios, a network television studio (Studio B -Green Screen Virtual Studio), a regional television studio (Studio A), local radio studios, a combined television and radio newsroom, and an Outside Broadcast base have all been built on the site. In 1986 33A&B Whiteladies Road were demolished to make way for a new development providing post-production facilities, a restaurant, library and headquarters offices for the South and West Region, as well as a new reception for Broadcasting House. The new building was opened by
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
on 19 January 1990. After being formally established here in 1957, the
BBC Studios Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' T ...
moved to a new home in Bridgewater House, Bristol city centre, in 2022. The Bristol portfolio of BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Productions was also relocated to Bridgewater House. In May 2024 the intention to create a new base for BBC Local and BBC Audio Production on the existing Whiteladies Road site was announced. The goal is to redevelop the current OB base as a new home for the local, regional and audio teams. The rest of the Whiteladies Road site will be put up for sale.


Other Bristol facilities

At the time of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the BBC also had radio facilities at Redland Park Hall, All Saints Hall, the Chapter House, College Road, Clifton Parish Hall, the Cooperative Hall and the Clifton Rocks Railway. Subsequently 15 Whiteladies Road, St Mary's Church in Belgrave Road, and Christchurch Hall have also provided accommodation and facilities. A radio control room was built in
St George's Church, Brandon Hill St George's is a former church in Great George Street, off Park Street, on the lower slopes of Brandon Hill in Bristol, England. Since 1999 it has been used as a music venue known as St George's Bristol. It was built in the 1820s by Sir Robe ...
. From 1986, the BBC leased warehouses on the Kingsland Trading Estate, and also (from 2002) on the Lawrence Hill Industrial Park, to provide facilities for ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' when it was produced in Bristol. However, the production moved to
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
in 2011.


References


External links


BBC Bristol (Tour information)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadcasting House Bristol BBC offices, studios and buildings Grade II listed buildings in Bristol Mass media in Bristol