View source for Peterborough transmitting station

{{Short description|Transmitter station in Peterborough, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox UK transmitter
|name                = Peterborough
|image               = [[File:Morborne hill from west.jpg|250px]]
|caption = Morborne Hill site from west
|map_name = Cambridgeshire
|coordinates = {{coord|52.507778|-0.343333|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|location            = [[Cambridgeshire]]
|height              = {{convert|154|m|ft}}
|gridref             = TL127913
|built               = 5 October 1959 <small>(original)</small><br>2006 <small>(current)</small>
|demolished          = 
|collapsed           = 30 October 2004 <small>(original)</small>
|relay               =
|BBC                 = 
|ITV                 =
}}

The '''Peterborough transmitting station''' is a [[broadcasting]] and [[telecommunications]] facility at [[Morborne]] Hill, near [[Peterborough]], England ({{gbmapping|TL127913}}).

There are two tall structures on adjacent sites: a guyed steel lattice mast belonging to [[Arqiva]], and a {{Cvt|98.45|m}} tall reinforced concrete tower belonging to [[BT Group plc|BT]]. These sites are known by their owners as 'Peterborough' and 'Morborne Hill' respectively.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Engineers|first=Institution of Electrical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3WX0AAAAMAAJ|title=Electronics & Power|date=1959|publisher=Institution of Electrical Engineers.|language=en}}</ref>

==History==
The site was originally owned by Mr FJ Cheney of [[Polebrook]].<ref>''Peterborough Standard'' Friday 20 September 1957 page 1</ref> It was a 7.5 acre site.<ref>''Spalding Guardian'' Friday 28 February 1958, page 7</ref> On Monday 23 September 1957 a 110 foot experimental aluminium mast was erected to test strength of transmissions around the area, with BBC engineer Colin White of the Field Strength Test Unit.<ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Saturday 21 September 1957, page 6</ref> A 560 ft high mast was planned.<ref>''Spalding Guardian'' Friday 27 September 1957, page 4</ref> On Monday 14 October 1957 a war-surplus barrage balloon was flown at 600 ft. Morborne itself was 184 ft high.<ref>''Lincolnshire Free Press'' Tuesday 22 October 1957, page 8</ref> By November 1957 the test mast was removed.<ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Wednesday 6 November 1957, page 6</ref> By June 1958, television broadcasts were expected by March 1959.<ref>''Peterborough Standard'' Friday 27 June 1958, page 1</ref>

On Thursday 30 April 1959, the first 40ft part of the mast was installed, weighing 1.5 tons. The rest of the mast was expected to take three weeks.<ref>''Lincolnshire Free Press'' Tuesday 5 May 1959, page 6</ref> Test broadcasts took place from 21 September 1959. Television came from Sutton Coldfield, via a relay at [[Skeffington]] in [[Leicestershire]].<ref>''Peterborough Standard'' Friday 28 August 1959, page 1</ref><ref>''Lincolnshire Free Press'' Tuesday 1 September 1959, page 8</ref>

It was the same design and height as Tacolneston. Rowridge, North Hessary Tor and Pontop Pike are a similar design, but built five years earlier.

===Transmission===
The 560 ft lattice mast would open on Monday 5 October 1959, with 405 line television. This was the first day of BBC eastern news programmes. The G.P.O. link between Norwich and Morborne would be completed by early December 1959.<ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Friday 28 August 1959, page 7</ref> Broadcasts started at 6am on 5 October 1959. The mast did not carry ITV.<ref>''Peterborough Standard'' Friday 9 October 1959, page 11</ref> ITV reception came from [[Lichfield transmitting station|Lichfield]] or [[Mendlesham transmitting station|Mendlesham]], in central Suffolk.<ref>''Spalding Guardian'' Friday 16 October 1959, page 6</ref>

The Sheerhatch television relay, near [[Moggerhanger]], began operating on Monday 20 November 1967, serving Bedford.<ref>''Biggleswade Chronicle'' Friday 17 November 1967, page 15</ref> It closed in October 1982.

The FM frequencies were the same as today - the [[BBC Home Service]] on 94.5 FM and the [[BBC Third Programme]] on 92.3 FM.<ref>''Spalding Guardian'' Friday 9 October 1959, page 3</ref> Stereo FM radio came in July 1980, and also<ref>''Peterborough Advertiser'' Thursday 19 June 1980, page 47</ref> [[Heart Peterborough|Hereward Radio]] began broadcasting on 95.7 on FM at 6am on Thursday 10 July 1980. For the south of Lincolnshire, this radio broadcast reception would much better than when [[BBC Radio Lincolnshire]] began later in the year in November 1980.<ref>''Peterborough Advertiser'' Thursday 10 July 1980, page 1</ref>

==Arqiva mast==
[[File:Morborne mast collapsed.jpg|thumb|Original steel lattice mast collapsed, showing contact with building at the base.]]

A {{convert|154|m|ft|adj=on}} guyed high-steel lattice mast, belonging to [[Arqiva]], is used primarily for [[FM broadcasting]] but carries many other services.

Originally, this mast was built for broadcasting television on [[VHF]] [[Band I]].

On 30 October 2004, the original mast was destroyed by a fire. It collapsed, seriously damaging the transmitter building at the base. Services were temporarily restored by transferring them to the adjacent BT tower and two temporary masts, including the [[BBC]] emergency mast which was put in use for the first time.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-11-01 |title=Mast fire 'could be deliberate' |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/3970807.stm |access-date=2021-10-28}}</ref> A new replacement mast finished construction in 2006 and is in full service.

==Communications tower==
In June 1961 the original GPO 328 foot steel lattice tower had reached 100 feet, which weighed 80 tons. It was hoped to be built by the end of June 1961. It would carry around 5,000 telephone circuits.<ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Wednesday 14 June 1961, page 6</ref><ref>''Peterborough Standard'' Friday 16 June 1961, page 8</ref> The foundations were 700 tons of reinforced concrete. It connected with a GPO tower 96 miles away, the [[Heaton Park BT Tower]] in north Manchester.<ref>''Lincolnshire Free Press'' Tuesday 20 June 1961, page 8</ref><ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Thursday 3 August 1961, page 7</ref>

The 1961 lattice GPO tower was replaced in September 1970 by a 280 ft concrete tower, built by Monk of Warrington, as more communication dishes were needed, with 9,000 more trunk circuits being needed.<ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Tuesday 8 September 1970, page 9</ref><ref>''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' Tuesday 15 September 1970, page 7</ref>

== Services available ==

===Analogue radio===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Frequency
!kW
!Service
|-
|90.1 [[MHz]]
|40
|[[BBC Radio 2]]
|-
|92.3&nbsp;MHz
|40
|[[BBC Radio 3]]
|-
|94.5&nbsp;MHz
|40
|[[BBC Radio 4]]
|-
|95.7&nbsp;MHz
|5.1
|[[BBC Radio Cambridgeshire]]
|-
|99.7&nbsp;MHz
|40
|[[BBC Radio 1]]
|-
|101.9&nbsp;MHz
|40
|[[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]
|}

===Digital radio===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Frequency
!Block
!kW
!Operator
|-
|216.928&nbsp;MHz
|11A
|5
|[[SDL National]]
|-
|221.352&nbsp;MHz
|11D
|5
|[[Digital One]]
|-
|225.648&nbsp;MHz
|12B
|10
|[[BBC National DAB]]
|-
|229.072&nbsp;MHz
|12D
|4
|[[NOW Peterborough]]
|}

==BT concrete tower==
The adjacent tower is one of fourteen [[Telecommunications towers in the United Kingdom|reinforced concrete towers owned by BT]] in the UK. It is used mainly for point-to-point microwave links and forms part of BT's national telecommunications network. It was not damaged by the collapse of the Arqiva mast.

==See also==
*[[British Telecom microwave network]]
*[[List of catastrophic collapses of broadcast masts and towers]]
*[[List of radio stations in the United Kingdom]]
*[[List of tallest structures]]
*[[List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom]]
*[[List of tallest towers]]
*[[Radio masts and towers]]
*[[Telecommunications in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Telecommunications towers in the United Kingdom]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140826122506/http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/peterborough/index.php The Transmission Gallery: Peterborough Transmitter photographs and information]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/mapsys/fm/peterborough.php The Transmission Gallery: FM coverage map]
* {{Structurae|id=20016669|title=Peterborough Transmission Mast}}
*[http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=512500&Y=291500&width=500&height=300&client=public&gride=512700&gridn=291300&keepicon=true&coordsys=gb&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&scale=10000&out.x=9&out.y=8 Map of site]
* [http://www.thebigtower.com/live/Peterborough/Index.htm Peterborough Transmitter at thebigtower.com]

{{BT Group}}
{{Peterborough}}
{{Peterborough_VHF_405-line_Transmitter_Group}}

[[Category:1959 establishments in England]]
[[Category:BT Group buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Communication towers in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Infrastructure completed in 1959]]
[[Category:Mass media in Peterborough]]
[[Category:Transmitter sites in England]]