Waterside is delighted to welcome you to the Cosgrove Hall Films Archive.

We are an Archival Project based at Waterside. The internationally acclaimed animation collection, contains some of the best-loved children’s characters of the twentieth century, including Danger Mouse, Postman Pat, Wind in the Willows, The BFG, Chorlton & the Wheelies and many more Cosgrove Hall adaptations. Waterside are custodians of the CHF archive, based in Sale, Trafford since 2017 our role has been to house and preserve the collection. Waterside hosts a number of animation related networking events and talks. Visit Waterside’s website for future animation events, exhibitions and updates.

The Chorlton-cum-Hardy based studio was founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall in 1976, it quickly became the UK’s largest animation house. Cosgrove Hall Films produced quality animation by bringing together some of the biggest talents, puppet-makers, actors and animators in the UK to create, adapt and produce popular animations, including Noddy, Animal Shelf and Postman Pat. They also brought characters from popular childhood fiction to life in animations such as Roald Dahl’s The BFG (1989), Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows (1983), and Terry Pratchett's Truckers (1992). Puppet-makers Mackinnon & Saunders started their careers at the studio, as did BAFTA-winning animator Barry Purves and Art Director Bridget Appleby.

About the Collection

The Archive contains a mixture of 2D and 3D assets, since Cosgrove Hall Films produced both hand drawn animation and stop motion animation simultaneously. Our 2D store contains hundreds of plan, script, storyboard and editing material from an assortment of Cosgrove Hall Films series, including Engie Benjy, Bill and Ben and the Likeaballs. 2D also encompasses a smaller selection of hand drawn set designs and character designs on paper. hand drawn backgrounds. We also look after, several hand painted transparent cels and model sheets from Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, Avenger Penguins, The BFG, Victor and Hugo and more.

Our 3D store contains an extensive array of stop motion models from Cosgrove Hall Films, including puppets from your favourite animated series, such as Wind and the Willows, Truckers, Engie Benjy, Fetch the Vet, Oakie Doke, Fetch the Vet, Noddy, Postman Pat, Cinderella and many more. Set props from Fool of the World and the Flying Ship and Wind and the Willows. Props from the set of Noddy and Engie Benjy. A number of model-making materials are also included, including armatures, original moulds, spare model parts. The 3D store also contains some costume, mainly from Wind in the Willows and Truckers. In 2021 our collection acquired the sets from Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service, Entertainment Rights & Cosgrove Hall Films produced Postman Pat between 2003–2008.

The majority of our collection is made up of physical assets left over from Cosgrove Hall Films, but it also contains some material from other production companies with links to Cosgrove Hall Films. Such as, Stop Frame Productions (Sally & Jake, Grandma Bricks), Westley Wood’s Compost Corner, Barry Purves’s Rigoletto, Mackinnon & Saunders (Postman Pat), Entertainment Rights (Postman Pat), Woodlands Productions (Original Ivor Wood Postman Pat puppets).

Wind in the Willows

We’re delighted to announce that we have acquired 25 original Wind in the Willows puppets.

The Wind in the Willows was one of the studio’s first major successes in stop motion. The animated film was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films in 1983, adapted from the Kenneth Grahame classic. The film earned Cosgrove Hall Films a BAFTA and an Emmy award, and this success led to the creation of a stop motion series for ITV also produced by Cosgrove Hall Films. The show was voiced by Sir David Jason, Michael Horden, Peter Sallis, Richard Pearson and Ian Carmichael.

Thanks to the generosity and kindness of both Andrew Dunning and Lee Young - the MD at Duke’s Auctioneers – Waterside has been gifted these treasures for posterity and its archives.