Filming Again at St. Peter's Church - and the History of Cinema in St. Albans

St. Peter's Church in St. Albans centre was again the site of filming this morning. The crew wouldn't confirm whether it was for EastEnders, which filmed the wedding of Bianca and Ricky in November 2009 at the church, or another production. [Update 12.27: Local twitter user Jordan Adams confirms, in this eyewitness account, that it was EastEnders.]

The BBC frequently uses St. Albans for location shoots, having also used Sopwell House and St. Albans Crown Court in the past. EastEnders itself is filmed at the BBC's studios in Elstree.

Last December, when Eastenders was filming on the site, a builder from Somerset, working on a nearby construction site, decided to strip off and streak through the set. He was stopped, but not arrested, by police.

St. Albans played a large part in the early days of cinema, with cinematographer Arthur Melbourne-Cooper, whose family lived at the location of the Esso Garage on London Road, made short films in the 1890's. He later set up the Alpha Studio on Alma Road - a plaque has been put up by the British Film Institute at Telford Court, the tower block now on the site. In the early 1900's, he rented land and built a St. Albans first cinema, the Alpha, which was later rebuilt as the Odeon, which still stands at the site and is set to be redeveloped by James Hannaway, owner of the refurbished Rex Cinema in Berkhamsted, should the necessary financing be secured.