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TM1264 : Mendlesham Transmission Mast

Mendlesham transmitter

Mendlesham was the originally ITV transmitter for East Anglia, entering service in 1959. Its position near the A140 Ipswich-Norwich road in "High Suffolk" (a relative term!) was chosen cover the main population centres in the region.

The switch to 625-line colour TV broadcasts on UHF, the opening of the IBA's new transmitter at Sudbury and shared use of the BBC mast at Tacolneston led to revised coverage patterns and with the closure of the 405-line VHF television service in 1984, Mendlesham ceased to broadcast TV, although the Ordnance Survey still marks it as a Television Station. The mast found a new use from 1997 to broadcast VHF radio and more recently, digital audio. For more photographs, history and technical data see the Big Tower site.