In 1940, the British Air Ministry created an aircraft factory on an empty plot of land just north of the city of Watford in order to fulfill the pressing need for fighter aircraft. What became known as the Leavesden Airfield was, by the end of WWII, the largest factory in the world by volume. It produced the Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber and the Mosquito air fighter, both critical successes during WWII for Britain. The Air Ministry drafted a huge number of citizens to build the planes, over half of them being female. Following the war, the airfield was owned by a succession of different aircraft production companies, but was finally abandoned in 1994.
Later in 1994, Eon Productions took advantage of the empty airfield to film the James Bond film Goldeneye because their traditional home studio was fully booked. Following the production of Goldeneye, the former airfield quickly became a very popular film studio. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow were both produced soon after Goldeneye wrapped.
Then in 2000, Heyday Films and Warner Bros leased the airfield, now branded Leavesden Studios, to film the first of a new series of movies inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World novels. All eight Harry Potter films were produced at Leavesden Studios over the following ten years. Warner Bros decided to purchase the studio during the filming of the final Harry Potter movie in 2010, making Warner Bros the only Hollywood film studio with a permanent base in the UK. Some of the other titles to be produced at the studio were: The Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes, The Mummy, Wonder Woman, Ready Player One, Bohemian Rhapsody and the Fantastic Beasts movies.
In 2012, due to the continued popularity of the Harry Potter series (and the large number of props, costumes and standing sets already present at the studio), Warner Bros decided to open a permanent public exhibition titled: Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
Here’s a couple photo galleries from our visit to the studio …
Here’s a couple bonus videos: