100 Places for 100 Years of the BBC
In the BBC’s centenary year, explore 100 key BBC places around the UK – from famous studios to iconic broadcast locations.
Programmes that bring us together
The BBC has been bringing us together since 1922. First we gathered around the radio set in our homes, then the TV (and now even our smartphones) for essential viewing that keeps us enthralled each week.
Sir David Attenborough and the BBC Studios Natural History Unit at Broadcasting House Bristol bring us jaw-dropping footage of the natural world from around the planet.
The millions of us watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ will recognise the magnificent Blackpool Tower Ballroom , the venue of the Strictly live show each year.
While hiding behind the sofa hoping that The Doctor will escape the Daleks with ‘Exterminate’ ringing in our ears, did we know that the TARDIS is based on real-life architecture? You can see Gilbert MacKenzie Trench’s police box design in Buchanan Street, Glasgow and The National Tramway Museum, Crich .
The BBC has brought us award-winning comedy, from cheering radio show ‘ITMA’ broadcast during the Second World War in the former Tabernacle Chapel in Bangor , to hit favourite ‘Gavin and Stacey’ on Barry Island .
And, if tense drama is more your thing, you’ll recognise Belfast Central Library featuring as police HQ in ‘Line of Duty’.
Iconic broadcasting buildings
BBC television and radio programmes have been, and continue to be, made in striking buildings around the UK, from state-of-the-art sound studios to dramatic filming locations.
The BBC’s early radio studios were in offices and other adapted buildings like 31 Linenhall Street, Belfast, a former linen warehouse. BBC Scotland was based in 30 Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow , until 2007: the converted villa distinguished by different designers including Charles Rennie Macintosh.
But most places were quickly outgrown, and the BBC needed specially designed buildings. Broadcasting House, London , designed by G Val Myer and opened in 1932 was the first purpose-built broadcast centre in the UK. Originally, all the studios were in the masonry tower, surrounded by a steel-framed ‘shell’ for sound control. In Northern Ireland, the new Broadcasting House, Belfast designed by James Miller superseded the Linenhall Street studios in 1941.
Other buildings have become broadcasting icons for different reasons. In Wales, Raglan Castle and the National Museum of Wales regularly feature in TV documentaries and dramas like ‘Merlin’ and ‘Sherlock’. ‘Hinterland’, the first BBC drama with both English and Welsh dialogue, used Aberystwyth County Hall .
Having pioneered outside broadcasts from as early as 1923, the BBC brings us international sporting events from places like Wembley Stadium, and cultural highlights such as the Glastonbury Festival from Worthy Farm.
Technology that transforms our lives
Innovative broadcast technology has changed our lives over the past 100 years, from the first signals sent to the radio set in our homes to digital broadcasting becoming available on the smart phone in our pockets.
The Marconi Company successfully developed wireless radio communications before the First World War. The world’s first purpose-built radio factory is Marconi’s in Chelmsford.
The BBC started radio broadcasts from London in 1922. The BBC’s first Scottish broadcasts were from 202 Bath Street, Glasgow in 1923.
New transmitters and studios across the UK were needed to reach more people. Station 5XX at Daventry was soon followed by others including transmitters at Lisnagarvey (Northern Ireland), Burghead (Scotland) and other stations during the 1930s. Regional stations each had a studio, such as 4, Bridlesmith Gate in Nottingham.
Early television came along thanks to inventors like John Logie Baird, born at The Lodge , Helensburgh in 1888. Following trials of the different Baird and EMI systems, the BBC started the first high-definition television service from Alexandra Palace in 1936. Thanks to a temporary transmitter at Glencairn, residents in Northern Ireland could watch the Coronation in 1953; a permanent TV station was built at Divis in 1955.
BBC Television Centre in Shepherds Bush was designed by Graham Dawbarn, opening in 1960. It was one of the most advanced TV production centres in the world, whilst Pacific Quay, Glasgow (2007), was the BBC’s first completely digital broadcast centre.
The BBC continues to innovate, bringing us digital high-definition TV from MediaCityUK in Salford, one of the largest HDTV facilities in Europe.
People in a diverse and changing Britain
From heart-breaking news reporting like the Aberfan disaster, commemorated by a registered Garden of Remembrance , to making popular drama ‘Gentleman Jack’ at Anne Lister’s own home Shibden Hall , the BBC’s programmes and its staff share the rich history of a diverse Britain.
Britain has changed since the 1920s, and the BBC has changed with it. For example, during the Second World War, the BBC increased its number of women employees. Hundreds of women were trained as BBC engineers at the Maida Vale Studios , working behind the scenes in radio transmission and production. In front of the microphone, Audrey Russell was a Blitz fire-fighter based at the Chiltern Street Fire Station when the BBC recruited her as the first woman war correspondent.
The BBC’s first Black woman broadcaster and producer, Una Marson, lived at 16c Brunswick Park in Camberwell, London, where you can see a Blue Plaque marking her residence.
Her ground-breaking BBC radio programme Caribbean Voices introduced Caribbean authors to an international audience. Other pioneers include writers like Sam Hanna Bell, who lived at 2 Crescent Gardens, Belfast, bringing Northern Irish folklore, music and ways of life to the radio.
From the 1950s the BBC started to make targeted programmes for disabled audiences, including for example ‘See Hear’ for the d/Deaf community, made at The Light House , Wolverhampton. Now the BBC aims to provide the broadest disability coverage and the highest accessibility standards in its ongoing mission to inform, educate and entertain.
Produced by
Historic England (England), Historic Environment Scotland (Scotland), Cadw (Wales) and Department for Communities (Northern Ireland) help people care for, enjoy and celebrate the historic environment across the United Kingdom.