Kingswood Warren - the 19th century Surrey house that is currently home to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s world-renowned Research & Development Department (R&D) - will again open its doors to the public on 10 and 11 September 2005 as part of a national weekend of Heritage Open Days, organised by the Civic Trust and English Heritage.
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Visitors will not only be able to look round the impressive reception rooms and the beautiful grounds and croquet lawn, but will also be able to experience some of the technical broadcasting wizardry of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, making the impossible appear to happen before their eyes.
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Young visitors can participate in a show of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s virtual reality Production Magic in the TV studio and (for a small charge*) take away a videotape or DVD recording their exploits.
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Demonstrations will range from some of the electronic trickery behind ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ television coverage to the material that made Harry Potter's invisibility cloak.
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There will also be exhibitions on the achievements of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ R&D - including demonstrations of some current projects and on the history of the Kingswood Warren house.
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Organised by the Civic Trust and English Heritage, Heritage Days open up the doors of buildings of historical or architectural interest that are normally closed to the public.
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Andrew Oliphant, Head of Transmission Group at ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ R&D, said: "We look forward to welcoming the public to Kingswood Warren on Heritage Open Days.
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"This is our third year of running these events and we aim to maker the experience better each and ever time.
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"Our visitors will see not only a building that has played its part in local history, but also how R&D helps the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ deliver quality and value for money to our viewers and listeners."
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Kingswood Warren can be found off the southbound carriageway of the A217, just south of the Tadworth roundabout.
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Parking is available in the grounds. Drinks and light refreshments will be on sale.
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The grounds of Kingswood Warren and the ground floor reception rooms of the old house will be open between 10.00am and 4.00pm on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September.
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Entrance is free.
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For the latest information, please visit ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ R&D's website at bbc.co.uk/rd or the official Heritage Open Days website at www.heritageopendays.org.uk.
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Notes to Editors
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*A nominal charge of £2 will be made to cover the cost of the videotape, with £1 going to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children in Need.
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About Kingswood Warren
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. The Kingswood Warren mansion was built in the 1830s by Thomas Alcock, who also built nearby St Andrew's Church.
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Some features of his house survive, but it has been much altered by subsequent owners, amongst them Sir John Cradock Hartopp (who fought and lost a long legal battle to enclose the commons); Cosmo Bonsor (a financier who was Chairman of the Southern Railway and was responsible for the building of the Tattenham Corner line); and Joseph Rank, (founder of the Rank milling empire).
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. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ bought the house with its surrounding grounds after the Second World War, and its Research Department moved there from Bagley Croft near Oxford.
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Since then, engineers at Kingswood have led many advances in broadcasting technology - the choice of a colour TV system for the UK, the first electronic TV standards converter, teletext, NICAM stereo, digital radio and, most recently, digital TV and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ website.
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. In the last few years, the main reception rooms of the mansion have been restored (one of them was a laboratory for many years) for use as a conference suite for national and international technical meetings and demonstrations.
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About ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ R&D
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. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Research & Development is a world leading centre for media production and broadcasting technology. It helps the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to build public value by innovating in technology in support of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s public service purpose.
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. Its technological innovation helps the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to deliver its services on all the new digital platforms, to ensure that licence payers are able to access our programmes, to reduce costs and improve efficiency, to keep ahead in programme innovation, and to generate external revenue.
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. Like the rest of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, R&D has recently been under review. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Governors unanimously supported the Review's conclusion that a strong, vibrant and world class technology function is key to our ability to create a Digital ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, at the heart of, and indeed helping to create, a fully Digital Britain.
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They also recognised the changes necessary to bring that about and that, in making those changes, it was important not to put at risk the highly critical work in many areas of R&D.
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. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ R&D has a staff of about 160 professional engineers, mathematicians and scientists. Its current work includes:
spectrum planning for TV and radio - recommending what transmitters are needed, where, and using what frequencies;
Digital Radio Mondiale - digital radio for the long, medium, and short wave bands;
digital TV services - interactivity, electronic programme guides, and reception improvements;
access services for TV - subtitling, signing, and audio description;
wireless techniques in broadcast production;
virtual production for TV - computer-generated sets and virtual actors;
production technology - enabling TV and radio production from a computer desktop;
developing new services for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ website.
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