British Labs
Please note I have included companies who have editorial mentions or advertisements that say they are doing printing, processing, tinting or toning themselves. As an example The Bioscope for Jan 1 1914 has an advert for Lama Film Producing Co. Derby House, 5 Blackfriars St, Manchester (see below). In the 13 June 1912 issue there is an article by J Wallett Waller 'A Rush For The Derby Film' in which he describes taking the film upstairs for developing and printing.
Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
| Name of Laboratory | Date Opened | Date Closed | Notes | Operating Address | NAME Changes | |
| Anglo-American Film Manufacturing Co | ? | ? | The Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly July 15 1909 | Voluntary Place, Wanstead, Essex | ||
| Alpha Trading Company | 1908 | ? | Bioscope Sep 18 1908 | St Albans | ||
| Alfa Photographic Laboratories | 1951 Cornwell-Clyne - Colour Cinematography p 756 | 72 Wardour St, W1 | ||||
| American Company (London) Ltd | ? | ? | London Trades Directory 1915 | Croydon | ||
| Ann Whitfield | ? | ? | ||||
| Associated British Pathe Ltd | ? | ? | Kelly's Directory or Merchants, Manufacturers and Shippers 1951 | 142 - 150 Wardour St, | ||
| Automatic (Barnes1932) | 1932 | ? | KYB 1936 | Barnes, SW | ||
| Automatic Film Printers | 1919 | Bioscope 1928 | Charles Street, Barnes, SW13 | |||
| B & C Kinematograph Co | ? | ? | Bioscope 13 June 1912 | Endell St | ||
| Brent Laboratories | 1929 | 1986 | KYB 1930 | North Circular Road, Cricklewood, NW2 | Topical Film Co | |
| British Filmcraft Productions Ltd | 1927 | ? | Bioscope 1928 | Walthamstow | ||
| British Screen Productions Ltd | ? | 1928 | Bioscope 1928 | Warton Hall Studios | Taken over by Automatic Film Printers | |
| British Talking Pictures | ? | ? | Bioscope 1928 | Wembley | ||
| British Thompson-Houston | 1938 | Kinematograph Weekly 1938 | Rugby | |||
| Buck Laboratories | 1980 | In Business | 714-715 Banbury Avenue, Slough, Berks SL1 | |||
| Central Film Printing Co Ltd | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1920 | 6a Seaford St, Harrison St W1 | ||
| Central Film Service | ? | ? | KYB 1925 | 80-82 Wardour St W1 | ||
| Charles Urban Trading Co Ltd | ? | ? | The Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly 1909 | Urbanora House, Wardour Street W | ||
| Chromatic Film Printers | KYB 1925 | Ansell St Kensington, W8 | ||||
| Cine Reproductions | 1961 | Company Dissolved 2001 | From Can label | 581 London Road, Isleworth TW7 4EJ | ||
| Cinechrome Film Printers | ? | ? | KYB 1925 | 16 Garrick St, W1 | ||
| Cinecolor (GB) Ltd | ? | ? | Kelly's Directory 1951 | Weston Rd & 44 Bradford Rd Slough | ||
| Cinet Ltd | ? | ? | British Film & Television Year Book 1959 | 283 Lonsdale Road SW13 | ||
| Colour Film Services | ? | 2005 | Wadsworth Close, Perivale, Middlesex | |||
| Colour Film Services Cardiff | ? | ? | ||||
| Colour Kinematograph Co | 1910 | ? | Kelly's P O Directory 1912 | Urbanora House, 80-82 Wardour St | ||
| Colour Technique | ? | 2001 | Gerrards Cross | |||
| Colourtone | ? | ? | Chalfont | |||
| Commercial Films | ? | ? | KYB 1936 | Furze Hill Rd, Elstree | ||
| County Film Co | KYB 1917 | 9 Gt Newport St, W | ||||
| Deluxe | NC 1996 | In Business | North Orbital Rd Denham Middlesex | Denham Laboratories, Rank Film Laboratories | ||
| Denham Laboratories Ltd | 1935 | NC | KYB 1940 | Rank Film Laboratories, Deluxe | ||
| Dufay-Chromex | 1937 | ? | Rythe Works, Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey | |||
| Dunning Process (England) | ? | ? | KYB 1936 | 71-77 Whitfield St & North Court | ||
| Duncan Laboratory | ? | ? | Bioscope Mar 4 1909 | |||
| Elstree Laboratories | ? | ? | KYB 1940 | BIP Labs Borehamwood, Herts | ||
| Ensign (Agency) Ltd | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1920 | 1 & 2 Warwick St W1 | ||
| Film and Photo Design (West London) Ltd | 1966 | 1990 | 13 Colville Road | Film and Photo | ||
| Film & Photo | 1990 | In Business | 13 Colville Road | Film and Photo Design (West London) Ltd | ||
| Film Lab North | 1968 | In Business | 96 Kirkstall Road, Leeds | Humphries Film Laboratories, Rank Film Laboratories | ||
| Film Laboratories Ltd | ? | ? | KYB 1918 | 90 Wardour St | ||
| Filmatic Laboratories Ltd | NC 1955 | NC 1996 | Companies House | 19 Colville Road W11 | Sub Standard Film Finishers, Todd-AO | |
| Film Makers Cooperative | ||||||
| Filmstrip Services | 1959 | NC 1959 | Companies House | |||
| Gaumont Company Ltd | 1898 | 1955? | Shephards Bush | |||
| George Humphries & Co | NC | KYB 1925 | Humphries Film Labs | |||
| Gow Laboratories | 1982? | 1984? | Manchester | |||
| Hendersons Film Laboratories | 1924 | 2004 | 18-20 St Dunstans Road South Norwood SE25 | Hendersons Film Laboratories,Technicolor, National Film Archive | ||
| Humphries Film Labs | ? | 1985 | 66 Whitfield St W1 | George Humphries & Co Ltd | ||
| Humphries Glasgow | ? | 1988 | Balmore | Rank Glasgow | ||
| Humphries Leeds | 1966 | 1992 | Croydon House, Domestic St Leeds | Film Lab North | ||
| Humphries Manchester | ? | ? | Rallegh Blds | Rank Manchester | ||
| Ideal Film Laboratories Ltd | ? | ? | KYB 1959 | 89-91 Wardour St W1 | ||
| IGN Ltd | 1925 | KYB 1925 | ||||
| I Lab Ltd | 2006 | In Business | 55 Poland Street W1 | |||
| Ilford Ltd | ? | ? | ||||
| Industrial & General Film Laboratories | 1933 | 1934 | KYB 1935 | 89-91 Wardour St | ||
| Kay (West End) Laboratories Ltd | ||||||
| Kay Film Laboratories | NC | NC 1987 | Companies House | Oxford Road/Gillespie Road | Kinofilms, Kay Film Printing, Metrocolor | |
| Kay Film Printing Co Ltd | NC 1917 | NC | 6 Red Lion Square WC1 | Oxford Road, Finsbury Park | Kinofilms, Kay Laboratories, Metrocolor | |
| Kay Film Printing Co Ltd - Scottish Lab | 1940? | 1948 | KYB 1948 | 26 India Street, Glasgow | ||
| Kine Film Industries Ltd | ? | ? | KYB 1917 | 51 Rupert St | 1919 KYB 93-95 Wardour St | |
| Kinofilms | 1914 | 2003 | London Trade Directory 1914 - Companies House Kay Labs Incorp 1914 | 6 Red Lion Sq WC1 | Kay Film Printing, Kay Laboratories, Metrocolor | |
| Kodak Ltd | ? | ? | Kodachrome Processing | Hemel Hempstead | ||
| Lewis, F | ? | ? | KYB 1916 | 16-18 Gladstone Rd Sparkbrook, Birmingham | ||
| London Cinematograph Company Ltd | ? | ? | The Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly April 15 1909 | 154 Charing Cross Road | ||
| London Film Perforating Company | ? | ? | KYB 1919 | 4 Windmill Street, W | ||
| Lama Film Producing Co | ? | ? | Bioscope 1 Jan 1914 | Derby House, 5 Blackfriers St, Manchester | ||
| Lux Centre | ||||||
| Lynes B J | ? | ? | KYB 1936 | 9a Diana Place, Euston Road NW1 | ||
| MGM Laboratories | Borehamwood, Herts | |||||
| Micrograph Film Printing Co | Oct-16 | ? | KYB 1917 | 55 Little Albany St NW | ||
| Metrocolor | 1912 | 2001 | Gillespie Road, Highbury, NW1 | Kay Film Printing, Kays Laboratories | ||
| National Film Archive | ? | 1987 | Aston Clinton, Bucks | Moved to Berkhamsted when John Paul Getty Conservation Centre was opened | ||
| NFTVA | 1987 | In Business | Kingshill Lane, Berkhamstead | Aston Clinton, Bucks | ||
| Northern Photographic Works | 23 April 1896 | Vol Liquidation Aug 1901 | Kelly's Directory of Herts 1899/ Information from Alan Acres | Nesbitts Ally, High Street, High Barnet | ||
| No.w.here | 2005 | In Business | 14 Kings Gate NW6 | |||
| Olympic Kinematograph Laboratories Ltd | NC | KYB 1928 | School Road, Acton | Rank Olympic | ||
| Parkinson, H B | ? | ? | KYB 1925 | 12 Little Denmark St, WC | ||
| Pathe Laboratories | ? | ? | Brtisih Film & Television Year Book 1959 | 103-109 Wardour Street W1 | ||
| Peerless Film Processing | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1951 | 8-9 Long Acre | ||
| Pexton & Brooks | ? | ? | KYB 1919 | Victory House, Wood St, Walthamstow | ||
| Positif Ltd | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1922 | 4 Oxford St, 99 Charlotte St | ||
| Premier Film Printing Co Ltd | ? | ? | KYB 1928 | Upper Grove St, Leamington | ||
| Prestech | 2004 | In Business | Aberdeen Business Centre, 22 Highbury Grove, NW1 | |||
| Radiant (Colour) Laboratories | ? | ? | PO Trade Directory 1954 | 171 Wardour St W1 | ||
| Radiant Films (Laboratories) Ltd | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1942/1951 | 167-169 Wardour St | ||
| Rank Birmingham | ? | ? | ||||
| Rank Film Laboratories Ltd | NC | NC 1996 | North Orbital Rd Denham Middlesex | Denham Labs Ltd, Deluxe Ltd | ||
| Rank Glasgow | ? | ? | Yoker | Humphries Film Laboratories | ||
| Rank Manchester | Rallegh Blds | Humphries Film Laboratories | ||||
| Rank Olympic | ? | ? | School Road NW10 | |||
| Raycol | ? | ? | 10 Great Earl St, London | |||
| Reed's Colour Film Laboratories | 1953 | Company Dissolved 1986 | Companies House | 89-91 Wardour Street, W1 | ||
| Rosie Film Company | 1908 | ? | Bioscope 1909 | Wrencote,High Street Croydon | ||
| Sheffield Photo Company | ? | ? | Bioscope 18 Sept 1908 | |||
| Sidney Wake | 1937 | 1952 | KYB 1928 | 89-91 Wardour Street | ||
| Silkart Ltd | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1942 | Glenmill Studios Hanworth Rd, Hampton | ||
| Smith J Albert | 1898 | Charles Urban Book 'A Yank in London' | St Ann's Well, Hove | |||
| Soho Film Lab | 2008 | In Business |
8-14 Meard Street London W1F 0EQ |
Soho Images/Todd-AO | ||
| Soho Images | NC | 2008 | Meard St W1 | Studio Film Laboratories | ||
| Standard Cine Labs | ? | ? | ||||
| Stoll Picture Productions | Advert in KYB 1928 | Temple Road, Cricklewood, NW2 | ||||
| Strange R E & Co Ltd | ? | ? | PO Trades Directory 1942 | 12 Flitcroft St WC2 | ||
| Studio Film Laboratories Ltd | 1929 | NC | KYB 1929 | Meard Street, W1 | Soho Images | |
| Sub Standard Film Finishers | 1935 | NC 1955 | PO Trades Directory 1942 | 2-4 Dean Street, W1 | Filmatic Laboratories Ltd, Todd-AO | |
| Technicolor | 1935 | In Business | Bath Road, Harmondsworth, Middlesex | |||
| Titan Films | ? | 1925 | PO Trades Directory 1922/ Bioscope 1928 | 90 Wardour St W1 | Taken over by Automatic Film Printers | |
| Todd-AO | ? | 2008 | Merged with Soho Images to become Soho Film Lab | 13, Hawley Crescent,NW1 | Sub Standard Film Finishers, Filmatic Laboratories Ltd | |
| Topical Film Co | NC | London Trades Directory 1915 | 76 Wardour Street | Brent Laboratories | ||
| Universal Film Laboratory | Ruislip | |||||
| Vickers Filmcraft | ? | ? | Operating in 1928 | 229 Acton Lane W4 | ||
| Visnews | ? | NC 1993 | Cumberland Drive, NW | School Road, Acton | ||
| Warwick trading Co | ||||||
| Williamson Film Printing Company | ? | ? | KYB 1914 | 28 Denmark St - Factory at High Barnet | 1919 KYB 80-82 Wardour St | |
| Wrench John & son | 1885 | 1908 | London Trades Directory 1915 | 50 Gray's Inn Road | Edward Wrench & Son |
Certain addresses have been used as laboratory premises for many years; two examples are shown below. Where there is a blank cell the particular directory or yearbook did not mention that address.
| ADDRESS | 80-82 Wardour St W1 | 89-91 Wardour St W1 |
| 1912 | Natural Color Kinematograph/Charles Urban/Colorfilm/Kineto Ltd/Pathe-Freres | Charles Urban |
| 1917 | Kinemacolor/Charles Urban | American Company (London) Ltd |
| 1920 | Williamson Film Printing/Charles Urban | |
| 1922 | Williamson Film Printing | American Company (London) Ltd |
| 1925 | Williamson Film Printing/Central Film Service | |
| 1928 | Williamson Film Printing | |
| 1930 | American Company (London) Ltd | |
| 1935 | Studio Film Laboratories | Industrial & General Film Laboratories |
| 1936 | Studio Film Laboratories | |
| 1940 | Studio Film Laboratories | Sydney Wake |
| 1942 | Sydney Wake | |
| 1947 | Sydney Wake | |
| 1951 | Sydney Wake | |
| 1954 | Studio Film Laboratories | Reed's Colour Film Printers |
Last Update:04/03/2009 11:19:37
Contributors:
Janet McBain - Scottish Screen Alan Birt Acres (grandson of Birt Acres) Bill Vinten
David Walsh - IWM Joan Stead - Employee of Reeds
Louisa Trott - Archivist Leo Enticknap - NRFTA
I am particularly indebted to David Cleveland, Retired Director, EAFA, for the large amount of information he has provided.