The Winter Hill transmitting station is a
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
and
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
s site on
Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the
Borough of Chorley
The Borough of Chorley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The population of the Borough at the 2011 census was 107,155. It is named after its largest settlement, the town of Chorley.
History
The non-me ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and above
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
. It is owned and operated by
Arqiva
Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquart ...
.
Height
The original mast at Winter Hill was a tower that came into service on 3 May 1956, and carried the programmes of
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
(weekdays) and
ABC Weekend Television. In 1966 services were transferred to a new higher mast erected adjacent to the original tower. The main mast structure is tall and has a diameter of . During the period of parallel digital and analogue transmissions, the
DTT antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
attached to the top of the mast brought the overall height to ,
[Chorley Council - Planning Applications - Ref: 07/00056/FUL](_blank)
/ref> however as part of the Digital Switchover plans, this antenna has now been removed, reducing its overall height to . It is one of the tallest structures in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the tallest being Skelton mast ; however, at above sea level, Winter Hill has the highest television transmitting antenna in the United Kingdom and is higher than Gragareth
Gragareth is a mountain straddling the border between Lancashire and North Yorkshire in England. At , its summit is the second highest point in the post- 1974 county of Lancashire. The highest point in modern Lancashire is Green Hill (one metr ...
, the highest hill in Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
Construction
Unlike most masts, which are of a lattice design, Winter Hill mast is of a tubular construction. Five other masts in England share this design ( Belmont, Bilsdale
Bilsdale is a dale in the western part of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire, England. The head of the dale is at Hasty Bank, and the dale extends south to meet Rye Dale near Hawnby. The dale is the valley of the River Seph, formed wher ...
, Mendip
Mendip may refer to:
*Mendip District, a local government district of Somerset, England
* Mendip Hills, a group of hills in Somerset, England
** Mendip Way, a footpath across the Mendip Hills
**Mendip TV Mast, a transmitter in the Mendips area
*For ...
, Waltham and the original ill-fated structure at Emley Moor
The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.
It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...
).
Support wires, to hold the mast vertical, are pitched at 120° when viewed from above. These are connected at five heights, giving 15 supports in total. These wires have been strengthened, and of dampening chains have been fitted by Arqiva
Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquart ...
(then NTL Broadcast) to reduce the oscillations caused by high winds that were a factor in the collapse of Emley Moor
The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.
It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...
's original structure in 1969. During 2007 - 2009, the mast was strengthened to allow the installation of the new heavier digital transmission aerials. Its ropes weigh 85 tons, made by British Ropes British Ropes was a company established on 6 June 1924 through the merger of eight companies.
The companies were:
Gateshead
* Haggie Brothers, Gateshead
* Tyne Wire Drawing Co (a subsidiary of the above)
Liverpool:
* R. S. Newall and Son
London: ...
, with steel from Steel, Peech and Tozer of Templeborough
Templeborough (historically Templebrough) is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the ...
in southern Yorkshire. The column weighs 210 tons and has 375 segments, with steel from United Steel Companies
The United Steel Companies was a steelmaking, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England.
History
The company was registered in 1918 and the following year saw a joining together of ste ...
at Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...
in northern 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 ...
.
Maintenance
An advantage of the tubular design is that engineers can ascend the inside the mast and avoid adverse weather, which is a problem on frame structures. Maintaining the outside of the mast is typically performed using a bosun's chair.
The mast has always had a series of red aircraft warning lights
Aviation obstruction lighting is used to enhance the visibility of structures or fixed obstacles which may conflict with the safe navigation of aircraft. Obstruction lighting is commonly installed on towers, buildings, and even fences located i ...
but in October 2006 these lights were substantially brightened making the mast far more visible to passing aircraft. These lights can be maintained from the inside, as the lamps swing inwards for maintenance.
Eight external platforms encircle the mast along its height. These can be accessed from the inside of the mast, and are used to maintain the supporting wires, and the ILR antennas.
Coverage
The station's coverage
Coverage may refer to:
Filmmaking
* Coverage (lens), the size of the image a lens can produce
* Camera coverage, the amount of footage shot and different camera setups used in filming a scene
* Script coverage, a short summary of a script, wri ...
includes approximately 6.3 million people. The coverage area is mainly southern Lancashire and Cheshire. Relay Transmitters are needed around eastern Manchester, northern Lancashire and the Wirral peninsula. The transmitter also covers the North Wales coastal areas and although not the 'correct' television region, it is the preferred region for some in North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
, mainly because it carries Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
(as opposed to S4C, however since digital switchover Channel 4 is also available on all Welsh transmitters), Channel 5 and a much more powerful digital terrestrial
Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT, or DTTB with "broadcasting") is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' ...
output than the Welsh transmitters. The region's ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
franchisees, Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
(weekdays only until 1968) and ABC Weekend TV
ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one ...
(launched in 1956), were on air much earlier than North Wales' franchisee, WWN (Teledu Cymru) which launched in 1962 (subsequently HTV Wales) giving viewers more choice than they would with the Welsh transmissions. ABC Television lost its franchise in 1968, when Granada Television commenced broadcasting seven days a week. Since the digital switchover
The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is conv ...
, the Welsh transmitters are broadcasting DTT at a much higher power and Channel 4, and Channel 5 are now included in the line-up. However, because of the terrain and the rough landscapes of North Wales, many will find it easier to stay with Winter Hill (as small local relays will only broadcast a limited range of multiplexes with a reduced number of digital channels).
Output
Television
Digital
Winter Hill is the principal transmitter for the North West region (formerly Granada ITV region) and in 2009 it became the first in the UK to broadcast digital television in high definition.
Winter Hill's 700MHz clearance will end on 10 February 2020 when, somewhat surprisingly, Winter Hill will become an A group (excluding MUX 7 which are due to be switched off before the end of 2020 anyway). Because the A group is the opposite end of the band from Winter Hill's C/D, people with original C/D group aerials in poor signal areas may struggle to pick up the signal (se
Winter Hill graph
.
Only four of the 70 Winter Hill relays broadcast six digital multiplexes (Lancaster, Saddleworth, Pendle Forest and Storeton). All the others broadcast just the three public service multiplexes BBC A, BBC B and D3&4. Winter Hill also broadcasts a Manchester multiplex on Channel 27.
=Present channels
=
These were moved around until February 2020 due to the 700MHz clearance.
=Before switchover
=
Analogue
Analogue television transmissions from Winter Hill ceased officially during the early hours of 2 December 2009. Since then the site has carried only digital terrestrial television transmissions.
Digital television
The following is a list of the television relays served by Winter Hill, including UHF channels for each multiplex it carries. Only Lancaster, Pendle Forest, Saddleworth and Storeton carry all the main 6 multiplexes and have done so since 1998 when Winter Hill also started broadcasting these channels. Before 2009, the Cornholme, Lydgate, Todmorden, Walsden and Walsden South transmitters in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
also relayed signals from Winter Hill, until this was changed to relay Emley Moor
The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.
It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...
in 2009.
Radio
FM
† Relays the signal from Holme Moss
Holme Moss ( a.s.l.) is high moorland on the border between the Holme Valley district of Kirklees in West Yorkshire and the High Peak district of Derbyshire in England. Historically on the boundary between the West Riding of Yorkshire and Che ...
to cover south and central Lancashire
[Radio Listeners Guide]
DAB
† Broadcasts from a directional aerial to cover Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
.
† Broadcasts from a directional aerial to cover flintshire North Wales (Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...
, Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085,
History Prehistory
There is evidence that the ...
, Llanrwst
Llanrwst ('church or parish of Saint Grwst'; ) is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known als ...
, Llandudno
Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...
and surrounding areas). From Moel-y-Parc.
‡ Broadcasts from a directional aerial to cover central Lancashire (Wigan, Preston, Southport, Blackpool and surrounding areas).
Plane crash
On 27 February 1958, a Silver City Bristol 170 Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter is a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner. Its best known use was as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively s ...
(G-AICS) travelling from the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
to Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
crashed into Winter Hill (also known as Rivington Moor) several hundred yards away from the mast. Thirty-five people died and 7 were injured. The weather that night was so severe that none of the engineers working in the transmission centre were aware of the crash. Several feet of snow hampered rescue efforts, and a snowcat
A snowcat (short for snow and caterpillar) is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Major manufacturers are Pisten Bully (Germany), Prinoth (Italy) and Tucker (United States).
Snow groomers
A snow ...
vehicle had to be diverted from the A6 to cut a path for emergency vehicles.
Timeline
* 1956: Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
(weekdays) & ABC Weekend TV
ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one ...
commence black and white television broadcasting prior to main mast construction.
* 1958: Fatal plane crash kills 35 people, 7 survive.
* 1962: BBC commence broadcasting on VHF Channel 12 (including the Manchester version of ''Look North'')
* 1965: Main mast is completed, replacing the old 450' construction, which is removed.
* 1965: BBC 2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
UHF transmissions start.
* 1967: BBC2 UHF Colour Transmissions start.
* 1968: ABC Television loses franchise; Granada Television commences broadcasting seven days a week.
* 1968: ITA (Independent Television Authority) build the single storey engineering building.
* 1969: ITV and BBC1 transmit in colour on UHF.
* 1970: Relaying service set up with Emley Moor mast.
* 1974: Local radio stations set up wire frame ILR transmitters on the hill. ITA became IBA, following start of commercial radio broadcasting (in 1973).
* 1981: Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
create additional engineering building.
* 1981: Occasional Channel 4 test transmissions start.
* 1982: Additional ILR transmitter put into operation for further local radio. Channel 4 commences transmission (on 2 November 1982).
* 1983: Channel 4 set up relay service.
* 1989: NICAM
Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex (NICAM) is an early form of lossy compression for digital audio. It was originally developed in the early 1970s for point-to-point links within broadcasting networks.Croll, M.G., Osborne, D.W. and Spi ...
stereo transmissions commence from the site.
* 1997: Channel 5 commences transmission
* 1998: Radio station Century 105 starts broadcasting from the main mast (became Real Radio, now HEART).
* 1998: Low power Digital TV transmission start.
* 2009: Analogue TV signals were switched off in two phases on Wednesday 4 November 2009 (BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
Switched off) and 2 December 2009 (remaining analogue channels).
See also
* List of masts
The tallest structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper at . Listed are guyed masts (such as telecommunication masts), self-supporting towers (such as the CN Tower), skyscrapers (such as the Willis Tower), oil platforms, electricity t ...
* List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom
This list contains all types of structures in height or more, which is the accepted criterion for a building to qualify as a skyscraper in the United Kingdom.
Entries in ''italics'' denote approximate figures.
Structures taller than 300 ...
* List of radio stations in the United Kingdom
This is a list of radio stations in the United Kingdom.
National analogue and digital (DAB) stations
This list does not include stations which broadcast on numerous local digital multiplexes or MW licences to achieve near-national coverage.
DA ...
References
Further reading
* ''The Devil Casts His Net'', Steve Morrin, , The Winter Hill Air Disaster.
External links
MB21 Winter Hill index.
Info and pictures of Winter Hill transmitter including historical power/frequency changes and present co-receivable transmitters.
* http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b2455
{{Borough of Chorley buildings
Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley
Transmitter sites in England
Radio masts and towers in Europe
West Pennine Moors