Daventry and Rugby former Transmitting Stations

[dave walsh]

As my son lives near Market Harborough, I keep meaning to visit the Daventry site, which is now a Country Park! Today's Observer Magazine has an article about Houlton new town [also nearby on the edge of Rugby] "All the right signals". "once a conspicuous landmark for travellers on the west coast mainline, thanks to it's forest of masts [at] what was Rugby Radio Station, rising up to 250 metres high" [the masts that is].

It's considered a brownfield site thanks to it's history although "abundantly green". The developers are providing what people usually want but don't get ie Trees, Paths [cycle and foot] plus community assets like a Meeting Room, a Nursery, a Co-op, Doctor's Surgery etc The now listed Transmitter complex has been converted into a Secondary School. [Perhaps they will offer tours ?].

Dave W

[Lloyd 1985]

I used to live in Daventry, until 2015! The radio transmitter site, up on Borough Hill, was the other end of town to the country park, there wasn't much to see on the hill, there was only 1 mast left and some buildings. Sadly it seemed to just be a dumping ground for burnt out cars, I never went too far up there, as it was near the scruffy Southbrook estate. It'll be nice (and a surprise!) if they have finally done something constructive up there, as I recall it wasn't just a radio transmitter site, there was some iron age history there too.

I can actually remember the masts being removed, it must have been around 1994/95, I was in year 5 at school, and we could see the masts on the hill clearly from our class room window, there was some commotion one day as it looked like there was a person on top of one of the masts, and everyone in the class was worried they were going to pull the mast down with him up there! I've no idea what it was up there, but it wasn't a person, whatever it was stayed up there for years! And that was the one mast they didn't pull down.

Regards,
Lloyd

[Roger Ramjet]

My memories of Rugby was driving on the A5 in between the fields containing the various antenna whilst listening to Radio 1 MW on the car radio. Pop music was suddenly replaced by morse code !
Rog

[high_vacuum_house]

Having lived in Rugby for a number of years, I remember the Rugby site as fairly derelict. This was before the new construction work started. The tall LF masts had all gone by then and the aerial fields were fenced off. The smaller aerial masts were still in place though no aerial on them. The A building complex, the opposite side of the road to the historic C building which held the smaller transmitters had been abandoned and was heavily trashed and anything of value had long gone. The concrete bases were still in place to anchor the larger masts.

All has now been swept away to the new development except the historic C building

I visited the Daventry site a few times. There is a circular walk around the perimeter of the aerial field which takes up much of the top of Borough hill. There is one mast that remains doing DAB and digital television. Not much to see though there are some interesting items in the transmitter compound as it seems a regional base for Arquiva. There is not much to see except the mast anchor blocks and the odd well vandalised building at the golf club end!!

Christopher Capener

[dave walsh]

I feel as though I've visited already now with this useful input from others. I thought that you would be sure to comment Christopher I could identify with that comment in the article about the masts being a familiar landmark! It was a bit sad when they came down but inevitable I suppose.

Dave W