Before you stands the Swain’s Lane Television Receiving Station. This site has played many interesting roles over the years. In TV terms it goes back to the 1936 opening of Alexandra Palace. It was used as a receiving site for outside broadcast transmissions. The pre-war radio link used 64 MHz. It also used 1.5kW AM and a fire-escape type aerial. It was linked to AP via a balanced coax post office cable.
During the war, the Swain’s Lane Television Receiving Station was crucial. It was used with Alexander Palace to jam enemy radio navigation signals. This stopped bombs from reaching their target.
In 1945, a powerful gale blew down the original wooden tower here. Southern England was exposed to gusts of up to 100mph. The London Evening Standard reported on this event. A replacement tower was built later.
In the 1950s, the site became a medium wave DF transmitter site for London. It was part of Group H. The BBC-owned microwave chain for the original 13-channel linear PCM radio distribution started at Swain’s Lane. It fed Wrotham in one direction. In the other direction, it fed Whipsnade. From there it went via Thorpe Lodge and Meriden to Sutton Coldfield. It also went via Sandy Heath onwards to Peterborough and Tacolneston.
At Sutton Coldfield, the 70 MHz IF fed a further link to Holme Moss via relays. These relays were at Tick Hill and Macclesfield Forest. The baseband fed the local PCM decoder bays. It also fed a PO tube down to Birmingham. This carried the signal to Wenvoe.
The SHF feed of PCM to Sutton Coldfield stopped being used in the mid 1990s. Much of the PCM and NICAM distribution was then provided by Energis over fibre optic circuits. The feeds to Wrotham, Peterborough and Tacolneston were changed to BT provided MPLS circuits in 2016.
Swain’s Lane tower and buildings were widely used by BBC London Comms for Outside Broadcast applications. Wimbledon was one example. In recent years, OBs have pulled out of the site. Alternative OB links using satellite have become more popular. The site has fallen into disuse with the BBC and Arqiva. The future will probably be with mobile telecommunication services.
The sale of the Swains Lane site was completed in December 2022. It is mentioned in the BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts for 2022/23. Though its broadcast days are over, the Swain’s Lane Television Receiving Station remains a testament to broadcasting history.