Dating from 1902, Ealing Studios ‘can claim to be the oldest film studio in the world’. It enjoyed a golden era under the leadership of Sir Michael Balcon, whose much-loved ‘Ealing comedies’ began in 1947. They included The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob and Passport to Pimlico. These premises are now named after him. They were built in the late 19th century and, for much of the period since then, had been Bryant’s furniture store.