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Uncovering Lime Grove's history of art, fashion and music

Two students walking up the steps in the reception of UAL Pre-Degree Studies. The walls behind the stairs are made of dark green tiles and a long cream garment hangs from above as an installation piece next to the stairway.
  • Written byAlexandra Kytka-Sharpe
  • Published date 30 April 2024
Two students walking up the steps in the reception of UAL Pre-Degree Studies. The walls behind the stairs are made of dark green tiles and a long cream garment hangs from above as an installation piece next to the stairway.
This toile hanging down the staircase was based one in the UAL Archives made by Joy Lewis, a student in the 1950s. 2023 Stairway in UAL Pre-Degree Studies, UAL | Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

The neighbourhood around UAL’s Pre-degree Studies site may be unfamiliar to new students. Located in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, Lime Grove has a rich artistic and creative history across art, fashion, film and music. By taking your place as a pre-degree student at UAL, you’ll join the area’s artistic scene.

Arts and Crafts at the Lime Grove Building

The site of UAL’s Pre-degree Studies site has been a centre for arts education for over 100 years. It was initially opened as the Hammersmith College of Building and Arts in 1908 with courses across textiles, ceramics, architecture and printmaking. In 1914, they added a trade school for girls with programmes in embroidery, dressmaking, millinery and hairdressing.

A plan of the roof over the college assembly hall, including details of fixings.
1913 Hammersmith Trade School for Girls A plan of the roof over the college assembly hall, including details of fixings, from the London College of Fashion Archive, UAL
A female student with light purple hair and a green cardigan drawing some fashion illustrations with coloured pencils which are splayed across the table. There is a mannequin in the background.
A pre-degree student continuing the artistic legacy of the Lime Grove building with her fashion illustrations. Kaya Belmont, 2023 Level 3: International Introduction to the Study of Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL | Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

Film & TV at Lime Grove Studios

Right down the road from the UAL building is Lime Grove Studios, home to a film and television studio complex originally built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. After World War II, it was purchased by the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC).

Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was a regular in Lime Grove in the 1930s, filming scenes for his 1935 film The 39 Steps at Lime Grove Studios.

Over the 20th Century, many iconic shows filmed scenes here, including Doctor Who, Nineteen Eight-Four, Andy Pandy, and The Grove Family. The studio also broadcasted the Top of the Pops, a weekly British music chart television show, from Lime Grove in the late 1960s.

Music in Shepherd’s Bush

Many famous artists performed in Lime Grove, both at the Lime Grove Studios for the Top of the Pops and over at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. These artists include Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles,  Fleetwood Mac and the Who.

There were also many artists who rehearsed and recorded in Shepherd’s Bush. The punk band the Sex Pistols formed their first band there. They later played their first gig in 1975 at St. Martin’s College, which later became Central Saint Martins, UAL.

Another punk band, the Clash rehearsed and recorded at Ear Studios on Olaf Street, the name they gave an abandoned building where they recorded.

Singer-songwriters Lily Allen and Rita Ora both grew up in the nearby Ladbroke Grove.

The exterior of UAL Pre-degree studies, a redish brown brick building surrounded by greenery
2023 UAL Pre-Degree Studies, UAL | Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

Fashion in the 20th Century and Beyond

In addition to the dressmaking at the Lime Grove site, Shepherd’s Bush found itself involved in the mid-1960s youth culture fight between “rockers” and “mods.” This is depicted in the 1979 film “Quadrophenia,” a film that features the music of the Who and many scenes that take place near Lime Grove.

The many textile shops in Shepherd’s Bush and nearby Portobello Road have made the area known for fashion inspiration. Edward Enninful, former editor in chief of British Vogue and current European Editorial Director at Conde Nast International grew up in a house in near Ladbroke Grove. He frequented Portobello Market and Shepherd’s Bush Market and drew inspiration from the experimental clothes he saw there.

Join us for pre-degree studies at UAL

Explore a wide range of artistic skills and creative mediums by joining us for a pre-degree programme. You can discover our pre-degree courses including the ones that are taught from the UAL Pre-Degree Studies in Lime Grove, West London.