BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the
BBC's local radio station serving the county of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
.
It broadcasts on
FM,
DAB, digital TV and via
BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...
from studios near
Newport Arch
Newport Arch is a 3rd-century Roman gate in the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. It is a Scheduled monument and Grade I listed building and is reputedly the oldest arch in the United Kingdom still used by traffic.
History
The arch was remodelled ...
in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincoln ...
.
According to
RAJAR
Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and RadioCentre. RAJAR's predecessor was calle ...
, the station has a weekly audience of 63,000 listeners and a 6.1% share as of September 2022.
History
Launched on 11 November 1980 at 7am with a commissioned peal of bells from
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...
. The first words spoken on BBC Radio Lincolnshire came from Nick Brunger: ''"And it's a warm welcome for the first time to the programmes of BBC Radio Lincolnshire."''
In 1988 the station commissioned UK jingle producer
Alfasound
Alfasound was a radio jingle production company based in Manchester from late 1970s to mid-1990s founded by Alan Fawkes and ex-Piccadilly Radio DJ Steve England.
Alfasound was responsible for some of the most memorable radio jingles in the 80 ...
to compose a jingle package based on the traditional English folk song
The Lincolnshire Poacher
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and deals with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire. It is catalogued as Roud Folk ...
, continuing on this theme until 2006.
Until the end of the 1980s, BBC Radio Lincolnshire did not broadcast during the evening and simulcast
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
from around 7 pm on weekdays and 5 pm at the weekend. However, the end of the 1980s saw BBC Local Radio beginning weeknight programmes with stations broadcasting a mostly regional rather than local with the same programme networked on all the stations in that area. BBC Radio Lincolnshire broadcast its own programmes until 9 pm before joining with the other
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
stations to air a late show which broadcast from 9 pm until 12 midnight. However evening programming at the weekend didn't begin until many years later and the station still handed over to
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
mid-evening at the weekend until well into the 2000s.
In 2006, BBC Radio Lincolnshire conducted a six-month trial of
XDA pocket-PCs for the BBC, using Technica Del Arte's Luci mobile (on the hoof) interviewing application.
The station used to have a BBC Bus, until
licence fee
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence f ...
cutbacks in early 2008 forced budget priorities to be streamlined.
On 15 January 2018, BBC Radio Lincolnshire stopped broadcasting on MW.
Management
Under its first manager, Roy Corlett, the station achieved record audience figures as its programming of news, music and chat became very popular. Corlett left to found
BBC Radio Devon
BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...
and was replaced briefly by Laurie Bloomfield, who also left to launch a new BBC local station,
BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC's local radio station serving Shropshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Boscobel Drive in Shrewsbury.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 61,00 ...
.
After Bloomfield's brief stay, the station was managed for 14 years by David Wilkinson, one of the founding team, and a local radio pioneer from his days at
BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire.
It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on London Road ...
in 1968. Upon Wilkinson's retirement in 1999, the station was taken over by
BBC Radio Leicester
BBC Radio Leicester is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland.
It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at ...
managing editor, Charlie Partridge. In 2004, the station recorded record audience figures – according to
RAJAR
Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and RadioCentre. RAJAR's predecessor was calle ...
, listeners were tuned into BBC Radio Lincolnshire for longer ("hours") than any other radio station in the country.
Lincolnshire flag
In October 2005, it presided over the creation of a new
flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
for Lincolnshire.
Name change
The station changed its name from BBC Radio Lincolnshire to BBC Lincolnshire on 30 November 2009. The name reverted to BBC Radio Lincolnshire in May 2012.
Transmitters and coverage
The main signal on 94.9 FM comes from the
Belmont transmitting station
The Belmont transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility next to the B1225, one mile west of the village of Donington on Bain in the civil parish of South Willingham, near Market Rasen and Louth in Lincolnshire, England ...
near
Donington on Bain
Donington on Bain is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.
The village is approximately south-west from Louth and north from Horncastle, and is on the east bank of the River Bain, and in the Linco ...
in the north of the county, which, until the height reduction carried out in September/October 2009, was the tallest mast in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
Neither the FM nor the MW signals cover the southern edge of the county, including
Bourne
Bourne may refer to:
Places UK
* Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town
** Bourne Abbey
** Bourne railway station
* Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex
* Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset
* Bourne ...
,
Holbeach
Holbeach is a market town and civil parish in the South Holland District in Lincolnshire, England. The town lies from Spalding; from Boston; from King's Lynn; from Peterborough; and by road from Lincoln. It is on the junction of the ...
,
Stamford,
Market Deeping
Market Deeping is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, on the north bank of the River Welland and the A15 road. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 6,008.
History
The town's mark ...
and
Spalding. Likewise, most of northern Lincolnshire cannot receive the station, including
Barton upon Humber
Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is so ...
and
Immingham
Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby.
The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...
. As such, Radio Lincolnshire only covers central Lincolnshire.
The Grantham signal, from just south of the town, is a filler transmitter with low power. Radio Lincolnshire was the only local radio station in Lincolnshire until 1992, when
Lincs FM
Lincs FM is an Independent Local Radio radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark in Nottinghamshire. The station is owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio Network.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience o ...
began, also broadcast from Belmont on 102.2FM.
Monks' Dyke Technology College
Louth Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in Louth in the English county of Lincolnshire.
History
Monks' Dyke High School opened on Monks' Dyke Road in Louth in 1929. In September 2012 the school merged with Tennyson High ...
in
Louth Louth may refer to:
Australia
*Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia
* Louth, New South Wales, a town
* Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia
**Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality
Canada
* Louth, Ontario
Ireland
* Cou ...
is used for the
East Lindsey
East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The population of the district council was 136,401 at the 2011 census. The council is based in Manby. Other major settlements in the district include Alford, Wragby, Spilsby ...
reports. District outposts are important due to the time taken on Lincolnshire's ill-equipped roads.
DAB
The Belmont transmitter broadcasts
BBC National DAB
BBC National DAB is a digital audio broadcasting multiplex in the UK, for a number of radio stations which have UK wide coverage. The multiplex is owned and operated by the BBC and is transmitted from a number of transmitter sites across the cou ...
and
Digital One
Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covered more than 90% of the population from 137 transmitters. Coverage was extended to Northern Ireland in July 2013. It conta ...
;
MXR Yorkshire
MXR Yorkshire was a regional commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which served Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, North Nottinghamshire and North Derbyshire. The multiplex closed in June 2015 after the shareholders Global Radio & Arqiv ...
closed in June 2015. For Lincolnshire, a DAB multiplex could have only been realistically established by financial investment from the
Lincs FM Group
The Lincs FM Group was the parent company of several Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. As of Q2 2019 the group had a combined audience of 524,000. It was based in Lincolnshire, in the UK.
History
The Lincs FM Group was formed in the early ...
, and other transmitter positions could theoretically be used. The DAB licence, wa
advertisedin October 2007, which will not cover
Stamford or
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
, but will cover
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton ...
(Scunthorpe) and
North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire is a Unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...
(Grimsby). O
24 January 2008 the company
MuxCo Lincolnshire
MuxCo is an operator of digital radio in the United Kingdom. It is, in joint ventures, the licensee for local DAB ensembles in various parts of England and Wales. The company is owned by Arqiva, Bauer Radio and Folder Media. (owners of Fun Ki ...
was the only company to bid for the Lincolnshire DAB licence. It is 51% owned by the
Lincs FM Group
The Lincs FM Group was the parent company of several Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. As of Q2 2019 the group had a combined audience of 524,000. It was based in Lincolnshire, in the UK.
History
The Lincs FM Group was formed in the early ...
, and will have transmitters at Belmont,
High Hunsley
High Hunsley is a small hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Yorkshire Wolds approximately south-west of Beverley town centre and north-west of the village of Little Weighton.
High Hunsley forms part of the c ...
(in
East Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...
), Grantham and
Lincoln County Hospital
Lincoln County Hospital is a large district general hospital on the eastern edge of north-east Lincoln, England. It is the largest hospital in Lincolnshire, and offers the most comprehensive services, in Lincolnshire. It is managed by the United ...
. They wer
awardedthe DAB licence on 19 February 2008. Transmissions were expected to begin by July 2009, but funding for the project delayed the roll-out and the multiplex went on air in September 2015.
In addition, BBC Radio Lincolnshire also broadcasts on
Freeview Freeview may refer to:
* Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia
* Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand
*Freeview (UK), ...
TV channel 722 in the
BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Kingston upon Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds (now known as ...
region and streams online via
BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...
.
Programming
Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC's Lincoln studios from 6 am - 10 pm on Mondays - Saturdays and from 6 am - 6 pm on Sundays.
Off-peak programming, including the late show from 10pm - 1am originates from
BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Peter's Square in Leeds.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...
(weekdays),
BBC Radio WM
BBC Radio WM is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the West Midlands conurbation, West Midlands.
It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The M ...
(Saturdays),
BBC Radio York
BBC Radio York is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of North Yorkshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Bootham area of York.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience o ...
(Sunday evenings) and
BBC Radio Norfolk
BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Norfolk.
It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Forum in Norwich.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...
(Sunday nights).
During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Lincolnshire simulcasts overnight programming from
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
and
BBC Radio London
BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...
.
Specialist programming
The station's sports strand, ''Hope and Glory'', broadcasts full commentary on all
Lincoln City football matches with additional commentary of
Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...
and
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
matches online.
Radio Lincolnshire is also one of a handful of stations to have a dedicated farming programme on Sundays at 7am, which the station has broadcast since it began broadcasting.
Former programming
A weekly news bulletin in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
was broadcast for migrant workers until July 2008. It was read by Rui Silva, who worked for
Boston Borough Council.
Events
Since the early 1980s, a race had been held at the
Market Rasen Racecourse
Market Rasen Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the town of Market Rasen, in Lincolnshire, England.
The course is a right-handed oval with a circumference of around one-and-a-quarter miles. Although National Hunt racing is traditionally ...
, the ''BBC Radio Lincolnshire Novice's Hurdle''. In recent years, this has become the ''Mike Molloy Memorial Handicap Chase'', named after a former sports presenter who died of
Myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, anemi ...
.
In 1983 it formed a charity trust, thought to be the first in the UK for a radio station. This became known as ''Going for Gold''. Originally ''GOLD'' stood for ''Give Our Lincolnshire Defibrillators''. Since then, money has been raised for a number of other local causes.
It holds an annual folk song competition called "Song For Lincolnshire".
Notable former staff
*
Boothby Graffoe
Boothby Graffoe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 223. It is situated approximately south from the city and county town of Lincoln, ...
, comedian who presented a two-hour programme on Friday evenings on the station, and briefly on
Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire.
It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on London Road ...
, in the late 1980s.
*
John Inverdale
John Inverdale (born 27 September 1957) is an English broadcaster who works for both the BBC and ITV.
During his radio career, he has presented coverage of many major sporting events including the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, the Grand National a ...
, presenter of national sports programmes on
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
and
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
, started his radio career as a morning presenter from 1982 until 1985, having worked for two years at the
Lincolnshire Echo
The ''Lincolnshire Echo'' is a weekly British regional newspaper for Lincolnshire, whose first edition was on Tuesday 31 January 1893, and is published every Thursday. It is owned by Reach PLC and it is distributed throughout the county.
The ...
. He has claimed it is the most enjoyable job he has ever had, despite the early mornings. He was replaced by
Dave Bussey.
*
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...
weather forecaster
Jo Wheeler
Jo Wheeler (born 3 July 1963, Manchester) is an English weather forecaster who currently works for Sky News.
Early life
Wheeler's father and uncle worked in the broadcasting industry. From 1974–79 she attended Wilmslow County Grammar School f ...
worked for a number of years as a Saturday afternoon programme presenter at BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
* BBC Director of Sport,
, began his career at the station.
* Sky News's
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
corresponden
Emma Hurd who also presented on ''
East Midlands Today
''East Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news programme for the East Midlands.
The programme is broadcast on BBC One from studios at the BBC's East Midlands broadcasting centre in Nottingham, also home to Radio Nottingham. The ...
''.
* BBC News Washington correspondent, and former ''
Newsround
''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'', and originally called ''John Craven's Newsround'' before his departure in 1989) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It was one of the world's first televi ...
'' presenter,
Matthew Price
Matthew William Price (born 5 June 1972 in Hampstead, London) is a British journalist who currently works as Chief Correspondent for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
Education
Matthew Price was educated at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School ...
, was a reporter with BBC Radio Lincolnshire in the mid-1990s.
Matthew Price
/ref>
References
External links
BBC Radio Lincolnshire, includes presenter profiles
Belmont transmitter.
Grantham transmitter.
Audio clips
Former 1980s jingle package by Alfasound based on "The Lincolnshire Poacher"
News items
Station launches Sunday programme for Portuguese migrant workers.
{{coord, 53.23816, N, 0.53797, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
Radio stations in Lincolnshire
Radio stations established in 1980
1980 establishments in England
Lincoln, England