Official website: Cardington Studios Website
Built during the First World War for Airship construction, one of the sheds at Cardington (Bedfordshire, UK) has been put to good use to house the cavernous sets for Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception by Warner Bros and many other movie projects.
The production company worked at the site for 10 months prior to Batman Begins to prepare the run-down structure for use as a massive stage.
Following Warner Bros’ use of the sheds from 2005 to 2012, new owners have refurbished the sheds and set up support facilities for production companies to use. (August 2013)
Dimensions (each shed):
Length: 812 ft (247m)
Width: 275 ft (84m) total, clear width is 180 ft (54.9m)
Height: 180 ft (55m) total, clear height is 157 ft (47.9m)
Although it’s not soundproofed (and therefore not a ‘soundstage’), the shed is proving very useful for building massive sets, and as post-production sound technology improves, the need for soundproofed stages is reduced. The total amount of floor space available (223,000 sq feet, or 5 acres) is over 5 times the size of the largest soundstage available in Hollywood (Stage 15 at Sony Pictures 41,985 sq ft), and is almost 3 times the size of the largest soundstage in the world, Stage 15 at Babelsburg Film Studio in Germany (78,954 sq ft).
The signage that used to be outside the site ‘T.I.G. Cardington’ (see right) is said to stand for ‘The Intimidation Game’ which was the codename for Batman Begins.
History
(Partly from Wikipedia)
RAF Cardington was built by aircraft manufacturing company Shorts Brothers to build airships for the Admiralty. Shed 1 (700ft / 210m long) was built in 1915 to enable it to build two rigid airships, the R-31 and R-32. A housing estate was also constructed opposite the site, and named Shortstown.
The airships site was nationalised in April 1919, becoming known as the Royal Airship Works.
In preparation for the R101 project the No 1 shed was extended between October 1924 and March 1926; its roof was raised by 35 feet and its length increased to 812 feet. The No. 2 shed (Southern shed), which had originally been located at RNAS Pulham, Norfolk, was dismantled in 1928 and re-erected at Cardington.
After the crash of the R101, in October 1930, all work stopped in Britain on airships. Cardington then became a storage station.
In 1936/1937 Cardington started building barrage balloons; and it became the No 1 RAF Balloon Training Unit responsible for the storage and training of balloon operators and drivers. In 1943 until 1967 it was home to the RAF Meteorological research balloons-training unit, undertaking development and storage (after 1967 this was undertaken by the Royal Aircraft Establishment).
For both airships and barrage balloons, Cardington manufactured its own hydrogen, in the Gas Factory, using the steam reforming process. In 1948 the Gas Factory became 279 MU (Maintenance Unit), RAF Cardington; and then, in 1955, 217 MU. 217 MU, RAF Cardington, produced all the gases used by the Royal Air Force until its closure in April 2000; including gas cylinder filling and maintenance.
The two airship sheds ceased being part of the RAF Cardington site in the late 1940s and they were put to other uses. The fence was moved, so they were outside the main RAF Cardington site.
In the 1950s, during the time of National Service, RAF Cardington was the reception unit, where thousands of recruits went to be issued with their kit. The Parachute Regiment was stationed there as one of the hangars housed the balloons from which trainees made their first drops. In 1954 RAF Maintenance Command used Shed No.1 for its rehearsals for the Royal Tournament. The Royal Engineers also used Shed No.1 for its rehearsals for the 1987 Royal Tournament.
Hangar 1 was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) to operate balloons on behalf of the Met Office carrying instruments to measure conditions in the atmosphere. The balloons were also used in parachute development (although they were unmanned – using a heavy dead weight); much of this work was carried out in secret.
The northern part of the site has for many years been used by the UK Government Driving Standards Agency Training and Development Centre to train Driving Examiners.
Building Research Establishment
In 1971 Hangar 2 became the Fire Research Station (part of the Home Office) which conducted gas explosion experiments and for investigating fires, a 20 lease being given by the MoD.
Following the fire that engulfed the Stardust disco in Dublin on February 14 1981, a mock-up of a section of the building was built at the shed, including the same fabrics and furnishings to examine the spread of the fire.
Full scale testing and fire research was undertaken from 1989. In 1990 the facility was transferred to Building Research Establishment as a whole building test facility for the Cardington tests. Here, multi-storey steel, concrete and wooden buildings were constructed and then destructively tested within the huge space available. This shed was repainted and maintained in comparison with Shed 1.
The buildings tests were mentioned during the course of the BBC series The Conspiracy Files as evidence in the controversy surrounding the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 on 11 September 2001.
If you’re on Facebook, join the We Love the Cardington Sheds group for updates and historical information.
Additional TV Productions
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It’s Not Rocket Science (ITV)
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Airmageddon (CBBC)
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Speed with Guy Martin (Channel 4)
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Man v Robot (Fox US)
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Revolution (Sky)
Music
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Sam Smith tour rehearsals
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Mariah Carey technical rehearsals
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Shawn Mendes festival rehearsals
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TriOperas West End Musical rehearsals
Corporate
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Superdry (website commercial)
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Honda (commercial)
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Honda Civic (website commercial)
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McLaren (press car launch)
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Lindstrand (hot air balloon advertisement testing)
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Elson Space (aircraft testing)
Productions shot at Cardington Airship Sheds
Feature Film (21) | |||
| Title | Released | Director | IMDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbo | 2019 | Tim Burton |  |
| Shooting took place at the sheds August - September 2017 | |||
| Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker | 2019 | J.J. Abrams | |
| Shed 2 | |||
| The Mercy | 2018 | James Marsh | |
| Jungle Book: Origins | 2017 | Andy Serkis | |
| Justice League | 2017 | Zack Snyder | |
| Greenscreen sequences and reshoots in Summer 2017 | |||
| Allied | 2016 | Robert Zemeckis | |
| Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them | 2016 | David Yates | |
| Filming in Shed 2 during November 2015 | |||
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | 2016 | Gareth Edwards | |
| Yavin 4 rebel base | |||
| The Legend of Tarzan | 2016 | David Yates | |
| Additional photography | |||
| Pan | 2015 | Joe Wright | |
| Filming in Shed 2, May-September 2014 | |||
| The Dark Knight Rises | 2012 | Christopher Nolan | |
| The underground sewer system, including Banes base and the 60 foot tall four-level underground prison were built inside the shed at Cardington. The airfield at the opening of the movie is just outside the sheds - they appear in the background of one shot. | |||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 | 2011 | David Yates | |
| Inception | 2010 | Christopher Nolan | |
| The revolving hotel corridor set and elevator shaft (constructed horizontally) were built at Cardington, Shed 2. Elements of the shed structure were incorporated into the elevator shaft set and can be seen in the finished movie. | |||
| The Dark Knight | 2008 | Christopher Nolan | |
| Fred Claus | 2007 | David Dobkin | |
| Batman Begins | 2005 | Christopher Nolan | |
| Shed 2 at Cardington had an entire section of Gotham City 'Narrows' built inside it. | |||
| Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | 2004 | Kerry Conran | |
| The White Diamond | 2004 | Werner Herzog | |
| Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope | 1977 | George Lucas | |
| One of the sheds was used as the exterior of the Massassi Temple, heavily disguised by a matte painting. The interior of the shed can be seen beyond the matte painting. | |||
| Zeppelin | 1971 | Etienne P&ecute;rier | |
| Exterior shots of sheds. | |||
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | 1968 | Ken Hughes | |
| Some scenes believed to be shot at Cardington. To be confirmed. | |||
TV Series (4) | |||
| Title | Released | Creator / Showrunner | IMDB |
| Scared of the Dark | 2023 | | |
| Squid Game The Challenge | 2023 | | |
| Red Light, Green Light game shot in the Cardington Sheds, Europe's largest indoor space. | |||
| Top Gear (UK) | 2002 - 2015 | Various | |
| Shed 1 was used to launch the caravan/hot air airship. | |||
| Red Dwarf | 1988- | | |
| Shed 1 was used for shoot the episode involving a budgie and a T-Rex. | |||
Music Rehearsal (1) | |||
| Title | Released | Director | IMDB |
| Take That 'Circus' Tour | 2009 | ||
| Shed 1 used for concert rehearsals. The music could be heard all over the local fields, prompting complaints from residents. | |||
|
Year
|
The Sheds
|
| 1916 – 17 |
The sheds are situated two and a half miles south of Bedford close to the village of Cardington. They are enormous, dominating the skyline for miles around. The main doors weigh 470 tons each, including concrete ballast, are mounted on rails, and are operated by electric motors. Number 1 Shed was built by A.J. Main and Co. of Glasgow in 1916-17 for the Admiralty. The first two airships built in it were the R31 and the R32. It was enlarged in 1926-27 by the Cleveland Bridge Company with the purpose of housing the R101. |
| 1928 – 30 |
Number 2 Shed was built by the Cleveland Bridge Company in 1928 to house the R100. The R100 arrived in December 1929 from Howden, Yorkshire, where it had been built, and in 1930 successfully flew the Atlantic both ways. The R101was not ready until October 1930 when it left on its tragic voyage to India, only to crash near Beauvais to the north west of Paris just a few hours later. The sheds were built to house the development of British airships but this project was abandoned following the R101 disaster. This loss of confidence meant that the sheds became redundant almost as soon as they were completed. |
| 1939 – 45 | During World War II Cardington was used to train barrage balloon operators and has subsequently provided balloons for metrological research and parachute training. |
| 1968 | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang filmed sections at Cardington (to be confirmed – it’s unlikely this would have been inside the sheds – it’s more likely to have been an exterior shot.) |
| 1971 | Exterior shots of the German airship sheds for ‘Zeppelin’ were shot at the hangars. |
| 1994 | Shed 2 is renovated and is used by a range of tenants, including concert rehearsals for Paul McCartney (Band on the Run 25th Anniversary), The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, AC/DC and U2, and as a test-bed for new building construction by BRE. |
| 2001 | Shed 2 is put on sale after BRE (a building research consultancy) moves out. The towering blocks of flats used for building testing still remain in the hangar. |
| Dec.2003 | Construction work begins as Warner Bros. start preparing the site for shooting Batman Begins. |
| Dec.2004 | Shed 1 damaged by winter storms – over 50 feet of the side of the building was ripped off. |
| 2005 | Shed 2 used for Batman Begins. The Narrows (Gotham City streets) are built full scale inside the shed, along with much of the Arkham Asylum. |
| May 2007 | The Dark Knight (sequel to Batman Begins) is in production in Shed 2. |
| May 2009 | Shed 2 used by Take That for concert rehearsals before their UK tour. |
| May 2011 | The Dark Knight Rises begins production on location before moving to Cardington. Interiors such as the underground prison were shot at Cardington, the there’s a fleeting glimpse of the sheds in the background of the airfield sequence at the start of the movie. |
| July 2012 | Repair work has started on Shed 1 to replace steelwork and replace missing sheeting. |
| Sources: Bedford Libraries website |
Movie articles
Other Links
- Cardington Hangars website
- Cardington blog featuring historical information, photos and poetry
- Photo gallery of the Cardington Airship Hangars by Tony Crowe
- Airship Heritage Trust – Cardington Hangars page
- Wikipedia page about Cardington, Bedfordshire
- BBC page about the Hangars including a 360 degree ‘virtual tour’ of Hangar 1.
- We Love the Cardington Sheds Facebook page
- Google Map