Alexandra Gardens, Chiswick
See seperate page.
Alexandra Gardens, Chiswick, seems the most probable identity for the homes of Mike's family and Mr O'Reilly in 'One Law'. Adjacent to allotments, which in turn abut recreation grounds, with a tree line suggesting the presence of the River Thames in the distance, it also has a distinctive red-brick staircase at the centre of the block of flats.
Alexandra Gardens date from the early 1930s, and the two and three bedroom flats in the block are now quite valuable (appearing in estate agents' listings for about £250,000). The Chiswick area is apparently popular with people working in TV and media. The area in front of the block has been extensively remodelled since the Tomorrow People was filmed. The yard area on which Mike and friends played has been truncated and a hedge planted. A road now runs along the front of the block. (Map)
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| Alexandra Gardens, Chiswick, as seen on screen (left) and in April 2007 (right). While the building has been renovated and the yard full of washing lines replaced by a car park, the allotments and sports fields beyond have survived the years. | |
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Fairview Dance Hall
Fareview Dance Hall, on Church Grove in Hampton Wick was used for early rehearsals of The Tomorrow People. The location appears on the rehearsal script of `The Medusa Strain', episode 9 of which was filmed at the hall on 29th May 1973. According to the episode commentaries, the building is now used as a nursery - most likely the Asquith Nurseries' Bushy Park pre-school. Later episodes of the series were rehearsed at St Paul's Church Hall, Hammersmith. A church hall in Hampton Wick, probably the same one, was used for rehearsals of another Thames television series, `Ace of Wands' between 1970 and 1972.
Orleans Park School
 The school in May 2003 (from Janet Sullivan's photos of the 30th Anniversary Dinner Tour). |
This was the school which Stephen attended and where Elizabeth was undergoing teacher training in 'The Blue and the Green' and the buildings used in the filming survive to the current day.
Orleans Park School is located on Richmond Road, Twickenham and is now a specialist Mathematics and Computing college. Note that this is still an active secondary school with 1000 pupils aged 11 to 16 and so access to the site may well be limited due to security concerns. |
Kingston Road Shops
| A row of shops on Kingston Road in Teddington featured in `A Man for Emily' as the location of the grocer and fishmonger in which Elmer attempted to procure supplies. Kingston Road is part of an ancient route, most likely in place by the 13th Century and a major road before the enclosures of the nineteenth. It formed part of the 1767 turnpike through Teddington. Nonetheless, there was little development in South Teddington until the opening of first the nearby gas works and then the Down Hall sewage works in 1851 and 1888 respectively. The shops are almost opposite the now-demolished and redeveloped Normansfield private asylum which opened in 1868. |  The terrace of shops on Kingston Road in Teddington, seen in August 2008. |
 Looking south, note the distinctive decoration and balconies. | The retail units themselves form a single terrace, surrounded by and opposite residential properties (including the nearby Elmer's Drive). They have a distinctive architecture, with ballustraded balconies on the upper of each shop's two storeys, above the shop front, and spherical finials decorating the facade. Interestingly, the bus stop, Shell garage, off-license and hardware store visible in the background on screen as Elmer approaches all remain trading, albeit under new names and faces. The grocers itself is now occupied by a Thai restaurant. The location is within a few hundred metres of both the Lion Pub and the railway bridge that appeared in the same story. |
The Lion Pub, Teddington
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The Lion Pub in Hampton Wick was used for filming exterior scenes of
Elmer's confrontation with a child dressed as a cowboy and his entry
into the pub in 'A Man for Emily'. Interior scenes at the pub were
most likely filmed in studio.
The Lion is a traditional Victorian pub. The pub is a few hundred metres from both the Railway bridge and the Kingston Road shops used for filming in the same serial, and like them forms part of a South Teddington development initiated by the construction of the gas works on the other side of the railway line in 1851. The majority of the settlement grey in a short period after 1864, the population becoming dense enough to support an Anglican church by 1867. Thomas Gray was granted a License for the property on 14th March 1870 for a house in a 'new neighbourhood' and the pub is clearly visible on the 1894 Ordnance Survey map of the area. The pub has been extensively refurbished since filming in the 1970s and boasts a large beer garden. The adjacent tobacconist has been replaced by a newly built residential house, and the front door of the pub has been moved onto the curved apex of the facade. The Lion was CAMRA pub of the year for London in 2006. |
 The Lion Pub in Wick Road, Teddington, seen in August 2008. |
Putney Hospital
Stephen was taken to the old Putney Hospital after his breakout in 'Slaves of Jedikiah'. In that case it was labelled as Claremount General Hospital.Elm Lodge on Lower Richmond Road, Putney Common, was rebuilt as Putney Hospital in 1912, and continued in use until 1999, when the original building was closed and Putney Hospital relocated. The site is now being considered for redevelopment into a Primary Care centre. Its location in the Putney Lower Common Conservation Area, and legal restrictions on the construction of access roads across Wimbledon and Putney Commons are complicating redevelopment plans. See streetmap.co.uk for a map of its location.
Railway Bridge
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This bridge is crossed by Elmer, Stephen and John in 'A Man for Emily,' pursued by two policemen. It is a footbridge linking two cul-de-sacs on either side of the railway line. As Elmer and company escape, a large gas holder (associated with the gas works on the other side of the road) can be seen on the right hand side of the road.
The bridge is a few kilometers east of Teddington High Street (see below), and crosses the railway line between Teddington and Hampton Wick, on the South West Trains line out of London Waterloo (map of its precise location). It is located just a few hundred metres from both the shops and the pub used for filming in the same story. A footbridge has been in this location at least since 1894 and most likely since the newly-built railway cut the pre-existing Bushy Park Road in 1863. |
 The bridge in May 2003 (from the 30th Anniversary Dinner Tour) |
The River Thames at Teddington
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See special page on the Thames at Teddington and Thames Studios for more photos and information.
The River Thames at Tower Bridge appears in the opening scenes of 'Slaves of Jedikiah'. A stretch further up-river, at Teddington, appears in 'The Vanishing Earth' (in which the TPs actually explore it by boat) and 'Secret Weapon' (where it forms the backdrop for the site occupied at that time by Tyso's family). Wastelands on the banks of the river at Teddington were also the location of Elmer's doozlum Pin in 'A Man for Emily'. This stretch of the river is immediately behind the Thames Television studios at Teddington (see below) where the programme was filmed, and can be accessed by a path and footbridge beside The Anglers pub (map of this location). |
 The River Thames at Teddington in May 2003 (from Janet Sullivan's photos of the 30th Anniversary Dinner Tour). |
Teddington
 Teddington High Street, May 2005. |
The town of Teddington is home to several filming locations for The Tomorrow People, described in several entries on the Thames Teddington Studios, Kingston Road, the Lion Pub, the River Thames, the Railway Bridge and Orleans Park School. The location was particularly convenient for filming the Tomorrow People due to its proximity to Teddington Studios. The Anglers pub in Teddington has also played host to several informal Tomorrow People get-togethers following the 30th anniversary dinner in 2003, and the nearby Lensbury conference centre is the venue for the 35th anniversary event, Hyperspace 2008. |
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Teddington, in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, Middlesex, is now a London Suburb and lies on the South West Trains line out of London Waterloo. Along with a beautiful stretch of the River Thames, Teddington boasts Bushy Park (a former royal hunting ground), is home to the National Physical Laboratory (where TP scientific advisor Dr Christopher Evans worked from the mid-1950s) and beautiful and historic Hampton Court Palace. See streetmap.co.uk for a map of its location. |
 Teddington High Street, May 2005. |
Thames Teddington Studios
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See special page on the Thames at Teddington and Thames Studios for more photos and information.
The Thames Television Studios at Teddington were used for filming scenes of 'Opportunity Knocks' and the appropriate dressing rooms in 'Revenge of Jedikiah'. Obviously the studios were also used for filming the TP series itself! (Right) PVC in front of the studios in May 2003 (from the 30th Anniversary Dinner Tour)
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 The lobby of Teddington Studios seen in May 2005 |
The studios (now an independent company and still used for the filming of popular television series such as My Hero and Pop Idol) back onto the River Thames (see above), are across the river from the open ground used for filming in 'A Man for Emily' and 'Worlds Away' and are adjacent to The Anglers public house. See a map of their location or for more detailed directions see the studio's homepage. Teddington Studios were sold to Pinewood Studios in 2005 and are expected to continue producing television. However, some parts of the large riverside site may be sold for housing development over the next few years.
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TS Steadfast
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The 'main deck' of TS Steadfast in Kingston-upon-Thames was used in 'The Doomsday Men' to represent the gymnasium of Glenn College, in which Stephen was challenged to a swordfight in order to prove his courage and determination.
Training Ship Steadfast is the headquarters, and unit name, of the Kingston-upon-Thames area sea cadet corps. The unit was founded in 1911, based on a Thames-moored Brigantine. Its intention was to train young men ''in the ways of the Royal Navy and Mercantile Marine''. When their vessel became unusable, the unit became land-based. In its current form, the headquarters comprise a building on the banks of the River Thames which nonetheless has a main deck, gangway, barrack room and ship's office. |
The headquarters, and some of the vessels, of the Steadfast Sea Scouts, as seen in April 2007. |
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The uniformed cadets appear to be popular in the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, and have been a fixture in the area for many years. As long ago as 1954, the Surrey Comet proclaimed that: ''Anyone with salt water running through his veins and a love of England in his heart must have thrilled with pride at the magnificent display given by the boys of the Steadfast Sea Cadet Corps.'' The building seen on screen was demolished in 1998 and replaced by a new building on the same Thameside site. TS Steadfast sea cadets meet for parades three days a week, as well as participating in water-borne training, regattas and a number of other activities.
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