The Manor Studio


The Manor Studio was a recording studio in the outbuildings of the manor house in the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Established in 1971 by Virgin Records founder Richard Branson, the Manor was the second residential recording studio in the United Kingdom, the first being Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales, established in 1964. The studio served as the location for numerous notable recordings in the 1970s and 80s by artists including Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream, Public Image Ltd, and XTC.

Shipton Manor background

The manor house that would eventually house the recording studio was built by the Standard family in the 1700s. In 1804, watercolorist William Turner bought the property, remodeling and extending the house and creating a park around it around 1830. In 1867, the manor and park were purchased by the Blenheim estate, and sold to Frank Gray in 1920, who extended the kitchen wing and used the manor for the rehabilitation of young tramps. In 1951, the Manor and its outbuildings were listed as Grade II on the National Heritage List for England. In 1971, Richard Branson purchased the 35-acre estate and renovated the manor.

Recording studio

An outbuilding on the property that was originally a coach house and later a squash court was converted into a recording studio, with Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth assisting in its construction. The first officially released album to be recorded there, while the studio was still being given its finishing touches in late 1971, was Let's Make Up And Be Friendly, a farewell reunion album by members of the Bonzo Dog Band. Around the same time, Mike Oldfield attended recording sessions at the studio as a bassist for the Arthur Lois Band. Newman and Heyworth heard some of Oldfield's demos and took them to Branson and Simon Draper, who eventually gave Oldfield one week of recording time at The Manor.
In November 1972 Oldfield recorded "Tubular Bells, Part One" at the studio. Approving of the finished product, Branson and Draper gave Oldfield permission to continue recording at the studio to complete the project, and Oldfield recorded "Tubular Bells, Part Two" between February and April 1973. Vivian Stanshall, formerly of the Bonzo Dog Band, was recording his first solo album there immediately afterwards, which led to his guest role as Master of Ceremonies on Tubular Bells. Branson and Draper chose to form their own label, Virgin Records, and use Tubular Bells as the label's first release.
The Manor was a residential studio, providing living accommodations for clients. A 1973 advertisement boasted such amenities as day and night recording, resident cooks, free food and beds, and room for producers, musician's partners, and roadies. The studio featured a 16-track Ampex recorder, 20-channel mixing console, equalization, Dolby noise reduction, quadrophonic monitoring, phasing and echo facilities, a grand piano, and room for up to 40 musicians.
Recording engineer Mick Glossop began working at the studio in 1973. Other artists recording at the Manor in its early years included Sandy Denny, John Cale, Tangerine Dream, and the Strawbs. In 1975 the studio underwent a year-long refurbishment by Tom Hidley and Eastlake Audio, which expanded its capabilities to 24 tracks, and included the construction of a new control room and the installation of a quad-ready 32-input Helios mixing console with Allison automation. That year, Queen began recording A Day at the Races at the studio. Other artists recording at the Manor in the 1970s included Van Morrison, XTC, Split Enz, and Public Image Ltd.
In late 1981 the Helios console was replaced by a Solid State Logic SL 4000 E Series. Artists recording at the Manor in the 1980s included Japan, Big Country, INXS, Rush, The Cult, Gene Loves Jezebel.
In April 1995, after the takeover of Virgin Records by EMI, the Manor Studio was closed and the property sold for £750,000 to the Marquess of Headfort as a country home. In 2010, the property was listed for sale for £5.75 million.

Partial list of albums recorded at the Manor

In 1973, former Pye Studios engineer Philip Newell was working at the Manor and wanted to build a mobile recording truck. Branson offered to build a state-of-the-art 24-track mobile recording truck. The Manor Mobile went into operation on 30 July, and found immediate success with bookings from Virgin Records artists, other record labels, and the BBC.