Today’s High House

What’s Going On Today At High House

It took many months of planning, hard work, negotiation and patience to pull the four different land owners of the site into one, and to then plan every stage of its development.

Today’s High House is a world class production facility which has the National Skills Academy at its side. Together they made an ambitious venture called the High House Production Park which boasts 4,000 square metres of workshops. Those workshops include paint, metal, carpentry and fibreglass shops. The main building has a 25 metre tall roof, the same dimensions as the Covent Garden stage, which allows sets to be worked on and seen as they would appear on stage.

The High House Production Park you see today is the combined efforts of the Royal Opera House, Creative & Cultural Skills, Acme Studios, Thurrock Council and the Arts Council England.

In December 2010 the Royal Opera House opened the Bob and Tamar Manoukian Set Production Workshop, a state-of-the-art set making facility within the High House Production Park for their opera and ballet shows. Since its opening, every set and piece of scenery for all performances in the Royal Opera House has been built and finished by the hardworking folk at the Bob and Tamar Manoukian Production Workshop in the High House Production Park.

Then in 2013 Creative & Cultural Skills launched the Backstage Centre, a top class production, rehearsal and training venue for performance, broadcast and live events.

Also in 2013, Acme Studios (a London-based charity) opened the High House Artists Studios, a brand new studio that reflects the latest thinking in creative workspace. Formed in 1972 by artists for artisits, it supports the development of fine art production by providing the artists with an affordable studio and living space designed to get the creative juices flowing.

Then in 2015 the Bob and Tamar Manoukian Costume Centre opened on the site. The Centre is designed to hold costumes for Royal Opera House productions, as well as historic costumes, musical instruments and furniture from the archive collection. The Centre delivers a BA (Hons.) degree course in Costume Construction, in partnership with South Essex College and University of the Arts London.

As of 2011, High House Production Park Ltd went from being in the public sector and changed into a charitable organisation and is now led by the Board of Trustees and a small executive team.

Find Out More About High House

Our History

Many might believe that Purfleet and the wider Thurrock area has no history dating back more than one or two hundred years, and that the heavy industry, warehouses and harsh industrial landscape is all you would see on a trip to Purfleet itself.

However, Purfleet has a varied social and cultural history dating back thousands of years with elements of its past being hard to spot, until they are shown and explained and then the tapestry of another life will reveal itself.

How You Can Help

High House would be a shell without the fabulous support that the project has enjoyed from the local community. To make this project grow and to keep this centre of excellence a local, regional and national achivement, we need your help.

Get involved and start your journey of discovery at High House.