| The Boathouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Business |
| Architectural style | 1960s |
| Location | Twickenham, London, England |
| Owner | Boathouse Twickenham Limited |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Cavity wall |
| Floor count | 2 |
The Boathouse is a commercial property located at Ranelagh Drive, Twickenham in England, which housed music and film studios. [1]
The Boathouse is built on an island on the south-west bank of the River Thames and is within the St. Margaret's Estate Conservation Area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It adjoins the Thames Path and features views of the Richmond Lock and the Old Deer Park.
The structure is two-storey with about 7500 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. [2]
The property was previously known as Dick Waite's Boathouse, [3] and was built in the late 1960s as part of a redevelopment of Sims' Boatyard, a builder of racing boats. It 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 [4] and remodelled it to house his Eel Pie Studios. [5] 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. [6] [7] The film archive moved from The Boathouse to Norwich, Norfolk, in 1990. [8]
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. [9] The studios were occupied by the band Cocteau Twins in the 1990s, who called it September Sound, and also the band Lightning Seeds. [10] Townshend sold the property in 2008 to Hi2 Limited, [11] but retained ownership of the Dutch barge, Grand Cru.
Grand Cru Studio operated as a commercial studio run by Townshend's studio engineer Myles Clarke and is moored in St Katharine Docks, London. [12]
Following various attempts at marketing and selling the property, in 2009 Hi2 Limited unsuccessfully applied for planning permission. [13] In 2017, a newly formed company, Boathouse Twickenham Limited, was unsuccessful with its planning application. [13] The property had been transferred to Vennture (One) Limited [14] prior to the making of the application, which was commented on by the planning inspector. [13] Following refusal, the property was sold to Peter Gbedemah [15] a director and the controlling, major shareholder of Boathouse Twickenham Limited. [16] Vennture (One) Limited sold the property for a substantial sum. Vennture (One) Limited had a "Winding Up Petition" presented against it by HMRC on 14 February 2019. [17] Peter Gbedemah's co- director, Jonathan Emuss, was instrumental in the 2017 failed planning application. Jonathan Emuss [18] was made bankrupt on 26 June 2018, [19] by the Isle of Man company, Greencroft International Limited - Peter Gbedemah's offshore investment company.
Twickenham in southwest London, England, is on the River Thames 9.9 miles (15.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross, 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Hounslow, and 2.6 miles (4.2 km) northwest of Kingston upon Thames.
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, secondary lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Eel Pie Island is an 8.935-acre (3.6 ha) island in the River Thames at Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is on the maintained minimum head of water above the only lock on the Tideway and is accessible by boat or from the left bank by footbridge. The island had a club that was a major venue for jazz and blues in the 1960s.
Pie and mash is a traditional working-class food, originating in the Docks of London. Pie, mash and eel shops have been in London since the 19th century, and are still common in East and South London, and in many parts of Kent and Essex. The shops may serve stewed or jellied eels.
Who Came First is the debut album by Pete Townshend, released in 1972 on Track Records in the UK and Track/Decca in the US. It includes demos from the aborted concept album Lifehouse, part of which became Who's Next. The original release had a gatefold cover and included a poster with additional photos of Meher Baba from the Louis van Gasteren film Beyond Words. The cover photo of Townshend standing on eggs is a reference to the eternal question "Who came first: the chicken or the egg?" It peaked at number 30 on the UK album chart and at number 69 on the US Billboard 200.
Eel Pie Recording Studios, formerly Oceanic, was a recording studio located in The Boathouse, Twickenham on the banks of the River Thames in Ranelagh Drive, by Twickenham Bridge, West London, and also simultaneously at No. 45 Broadwick Street, Soho, London. The name for the studios came from the nearby Eel Pie Island, which was known as a major jazz and blues venue in the 1960s.
Richmond Bridge is an 18th-century stone arch bridge that crosses the River Thames at Richmond, connecting the two halves of the present-day London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was designed by James Paine and Kenton Couse.
Then and Now is a 2004 greatest hits compilation album by The Who released internationally by Polydor Records and by Geffen Records in the United States. It features 18 Who classics and two new tracks—"Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine"—which were the first Who originals since "Dig" from Pete Townshend's 1989 album The Iron Man. "Real Good Looking Boy" is a tribute to Elvis Presley, and "Old Red Wine" is a tribute to former band member John Entwistle, who died in 2002. The album was re-released in 2007 and replaced "Old Red Wine" with "It's Not Enough" from the 2006 album Endless Wire and "Summertime Blues" was replaced by "Baba O'Riley".
Twickenham was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1868 to 1965.
Eel Pie Publishing is a publishing house founded by musician and author Pete Townshend in 1977, and named after Eel Pie Island. It is part of the Eelpie Group of Companies including Eel Pie Recording Production Ltd which was set up in 1970 by Pete Townshend.
Hammerton's Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle ferry service across the River Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England. The ferry links the river's northern bank near Marble Hill House in Twickenham with its southern bank near Ham House in Ham. It is one of only four remaining ferry routes in London not to be replaced by a bridge or tunnel.
Pete Townshend Live BAM 1993 is a live recording by Pete Townshend. The music was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 7 August 1993 and a double CD released 11 August 2003 by UK company Eel Pie Recording Productions Ltd. The concert took place during Townshend's Psychoderelict tour and the CD features the entire Psychoderlict performance as well as selections from Townshend's catalogue.
The Learning Schools Trust (LST) was a charitable trust which operated Kunskapsskolan sponsored academy schools in the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2016.
Method Music is a double-album of electronic music by the English composer and mathematician Lawrence Ball created using the compositional system that would become The Lifehouse Method, an online-based compositional project conceived by Pete Townshend of The Who to compose customized algorithmically-generated musical portraits. The album's music evolved from tests of the portraiture system.
Tara was a house on St Anns Hill, Chertsey, Surrey owned by The Who's drummer Keith Moon in the 1970s, but was demolished and replaced by a new home in 1990. The press party for the release of the Who's Next album was held at Tara.
St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a Grade II* listed Church of England place of worship dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin. It is on Church Street, Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.
O' Parvardigar is a 2001 EP by Pete Townshend devoted to his song O' Parvardigar which in turn is based on Meher Baba's Parvardigar Prayer. The EP, which was released on Townshend's own label Eel Pie, contains three versions of the song—a 1972 studio version, a live version recorded in India, and a German-language version recorded for the opening of a European Baba Centre.
St Richard Reynolds Catholic College is a coeducational Roman Catholic voluntary aided school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.
The Twickenham Museum is a volunteer-run museum in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located opposite St Mary's parish church at 25 The Embankment, Twickenham TW1 3DU, an 18th-century three-storey building which has been listed Grade II by Historic England and was donated to the museum.
Eel Pie Island Museum is a volunteer-run museum on Richmond Road in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It opened in February 2018 and tells the story of Eel Pie Island, including its historic boatyards, its contribution to the development of the popular music scene in the 1960s, and the life of the wind-up radio inventor, Trevor Baylis, who was a resident of the island. The museum's founder and curator is Michele Whitby.
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