Skip to content

Town marks centenary of making radio history

Martin Heath & Bernie Keith
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Daventry Museum Rod Viveash with short white hair and glasses wearing a shirt of small blue and white squares and Carrie with long blond hair wearing a white top. They are standing in front of an old glass value in a display case numbered as 2. There is a larger display case behind them.Daventry Museum
Rod Viveash and Carrie Gardner-Pett are co-curating the exhibition

A town is marking the centenary of its world-famous transmission station going on air.

A special exhibition opens on Saturday at Daventry Museum in Northamptonshire to celebrate 100 years since the BBC opened its site on Borough Hill.

It became the world's first long-wave transmitting station and eventually sent signals across the globe for the BBC World Service.

The display will include some rare vintage equipment and a chance for young people to step inside a radio show selfie booth.

Person sitting in a black chair looking at a semi-circular grey console with dials, and switches in several groups on the six panels in front of him. There is equipment set into the wall beyond the console.
The control rooms at the BBC in Daventry resembled a Dr Who set

The transmission station opened on 27 July 1925 and its effect on the town was huge.

Giant masts were erected on the top of Borough Hill, which could be seen for miles around, and hundreds of workers were brought in to manage them.

The signals were so strong that it was not just radios that picked them up.

Daventry Museum Old cream-coloured radio with frequency window revealing a red needle which can be moved across a screen showing frequencies and locations. There is a black and silver rotating knob above the screen and an information sticker to the left.Daventry Museum
A variety of old radios is also on display - this one is tuned to the BBC Third Programme transmitted from Daventry on 464m (647kHz)

Rod Viveash, who worked at the site and is now a museum volunteer, said: "When it was in its heyday, various appliances at home could pick up the signal from the station, and it was particularly annoying when TV started because it would interfere with the TV programme.

"We weren't really popular then!"

A transmitter hall shows various equipment bays with valves and other components in racking. There are several dials fixed to the racks. There is a thick wire running across the floor. There is a metal grid supporting the grey roof. Windows are visible to the left.
An early shot of a transmitter hall looks primitive compared to today's facilities
Martin Heath/BBC Large room showing three bays of metal racking, in which various spare parts of being stored. There are fluorescent lights suspended from the ceilingMartin Heath/BBC
The old transmitter halls are now used as storerooms for spare parts for transmission equipment

Carrie Gardner-Pett, Daventry Town Council's museum officer, said: "People in the town were really aware of that making of history, not just because they could literally hear the sounds from the cables above them, but because these huge masts went up on the landscape and made Borough Hill look even taller."

Daventry Museum Display case, with a glass valve on top of a Bakelite box on which are various metal fittings. The word AMPLIFIER can be seen on one edge of the box. There are other artefacts behind including boxes.Daventry Museum
The exhibition includes various artefacts from the Daventry site such as valves and amplifiers

The exhibition, Echoes of Daventry Calling, includes photographs of the BBC buildings over the years and artefacts from almost 70 years of sending out signals from Daventry.

Ms Gardner-Pett said: "I think there's really something for everybody - it's going to be a really engaging exhibition, not just for those with a particular interest in radio.

"Even for children, we've got stories about the radio circle that was set up, sort of a forerunner to Blue Peter."

Stuart Williams/Flickr Two badges showing a drawing of a semi-circular sun with rays coming out of it. Two brown rabbits are sitting in front, looking at the sun while sitting on grass. There is a blue band around the picture, with the words BBC RADIO CIRCLE iin gold lettering. There is a white name plaque beneath - one has the word LONDON in black writing while the other has MIDLAND.Stuart Williams/Flickr
The exhibition will include memorabilia from the BBC's Radio Circles, an early club for young listeners

Youngsters will also be able to step into a radio show selfie booth to take photos, record their own clips and experience what it was like to be on air.

The museum is open during the morning from Tuesday to Friday each week and on the first Saturday of each month. Entry is free and the exhibition continues until 28 November.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
Related internet links