So where was Anglia going to live? In an unwanted Agricultural Hall. Let’s go back to 1882 and Edward Prince of Wales, who was to become Edward VII, opened the hall. It was designed by J. B. Pearce. In it’s life the hall has seen many a distinguished visitor. Not only had it served as an agricultural hall where grain and sheep and pigs were sold, but also elephants brought by George Walker to perform for the audience. Yes, the hall had been used for entertainment before. After only being open for 2 years, in 1884 Oscar Wilde lectured in the hall, his subject was 'The House Beautiful'. In 1885 opera was performed and in 1886 Gladstone made an address from there. Blondin walked the tightrope in 1894. There was an indoor fair with steam roundabouts and perhaps a taste of what was to come, a cinema in the front of the building.
Obviously the place to have.There were 4 tenders for the building and Anglia was the highest. All that was required was full council approval. Note that the proposed Anglia must have already tendered for the building without knowing if they had been successful in their application. So for a rent of £5000 per year plus rates, the new company had a 75-year lease.Quick to maximise profits, which almost became a trait of Anglia, it succeeded in reducing the rent to £3500 for the first 7 years.It was quoted ‘in view of the heavy initial expenditure’. So the builders moved in to strip the interior in December 1958, the work being ‘completed’ by June 1959. Well completed in the sense that a working studio complex was produced.
Anglia House as it is today.