Hertfordshire is one of the many counties in England. It comprises of ten districts including Welwyn Hatfield, Stevenage and Broxbourne . Since world war two the area experienced a period of growth that, aided by the rail system, encouraged ‘light industries dependent on access to markets’ to base their business within the Hertfordshire county. One such business was MGM- British studios. The studio was originally build as Amalgamated studio as part of the mid 1930S boom in British film production. It was acquired by MGM in 1944
as the time the British film industry was going through a crisis and so the ‘British government introduced a number of legislative measures to stimulate film production’ . These legislative measures included the Eady Levy that involved ‘taking a percentage of British box office receipts and collecting the proceeds in a fund for reinvestment in film’. this encouraged MGM to buy the larger facilities in Borehamwood and by the 1960s MGM expanded the facilities to make several war films such as The Dirty Dozen . The studio came to an end in 1970 when Kirk Kerkorian brought MGM and sold the studio for £2million . However during its lifetime the MGM- British studios located in Borehamwood was responsible for the production of many films including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Lolita (1961), and Murder She Said (1961) . Some of the films produced here are still being debated and talked about today with many articles discussing the ethics behind Lolita in articles like ‘Who Would Dare Remake “Lolita” in the Age of #Metoo?’ and ‘Art or pornography? The debate continues as a new “Lolita” prepares to hit the big screen.’ . 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) has also left a long standing impression on film as documented in the article ‘50 years of 2001: A Space Odyssey – how Kubrick's sci-fi “changed the very form of cinema’’’ . These are a few examples of how the films made at Borehamwood have had a longstanding impact.
Borehamwood also filed several war movies including Operation Crossbow (1965) and Where the Spies Are (1966). These kinds of war films became very influential as these war films are ‘exemplary of new discourses created by the exigencies of World War 2’ . This shows how the films became a way to reflect the new anxieties that where held by society at the time. When looking at war films and their affects on the UK it is also said that ‘the war films that large audiences went to see in this period are best analysed as part of a wider phenomenon which encompassed the entertainment industry as a whole’ . This is because the rise of new media such as the television meant that analysing what films people went to could be used to show what trends where popular as seen by the growth in popularity of the war film. Overall the MGM studio at Borehamwood not only contributed to the production of some of the best known and contrivertual films today, it was also used to produce films that reflected societies views and fears especially in relation to war.
Another contribution that Herefordshire has made towards UK history is the Lee Valley White water centre. This was the location for the canoe slalom events during the 2012 Olympics . ‘Canoe Slalom made its debut at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, but didn’t become a permanent part of the Olympic programme until Barcelona 1992.’ This demonstrates how the canoe slalom is a relatively new addition to the Olympic program which created a problem for organisers as there was no place in the UK that would naturally facilitate the canoe slalom. Built by FaulknerBrowns Architects the venue can hold ‘a gross maximum capacity of 12,000 spectators.’ and it was ‘ It was the first purpose-built venue completed for the London 2012 Olympic Games and the only new build venue available for community use in advance of the Games.’. When the Olympic stadiems where being build they where designed with the idea of a legacy in order to prevent these facilities form becoming “white elephants”. This lead to the decision to have both an ‘Olympic standard 300m course and a separate 160m intermediate course.’ so that ‘during competitions the smaller section is used as a warm up area for competitors, whilst in legacy mode this becomes a training course for beginners to learn in safety.’ . While in use Great Britain won 2 medals, a gold and silver in C2 canoe double men . These medals contributed to Great Britain coming third overall witch was the highest medal total that Britain had achieved until the 2016 games in Brazil. The white water centre in lee valley is still being built upon as ‘Culture Secretary Maria Miller has officially opened the Lee Valley White Water Centre’s new pavilion, after a £6.3m investment in the London 2012 legacy’ . This shows the ongoing development into the centre and its ongoing contributions to British history as members of team Great Britain continue to train there and people who would not usually consider the sport have started to get involved as ‘ Since opening, the centre with 46,000 people having rafted at the centre and over 16,000 participants have tried canoeing or kayaking.’ . In this way the Lee Valley white water canter has made significant contributions, not only in the past but is also continues to make inputs into its local community and invest into the future.