Crystal Palace Transmitter - The Phoenix Tower

Arqiva's Crystal Palace Transmitting Station - built in 1956 is the main TV transmitter for the London area. The tower stands 219 meters tall on the site of the sad demise of the Crystal Palace by fire in 1936. This video, documenting the construction of the tower - was a colour trade test film broadcast from 18 March 1958 to 13 April 1964.
You can read technical details about the site on the MB21 website:
tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/galleryp...
Read about trade tests here:
www.testcardcircle.org.uk/ttcf...
This is scanned from a U-matic tape found recently and is a higher quality than previously known versions.
The Crystal Palace transmitting station, officially known as Arqiva Crystal Palace, is a broadcasting and telecommunications site in the Crystal Palace area of the London Borough of Bromley, England (grid reference TQ339712). It is located on the site of the former television station and transmitter operated by John Logie Baird from 1933.
The station is the eighth-tallest structure in London, and is best known as the main television transmitter for the London area. As such, it is the most important transmitter in the UK in terms of population covered. The transmitter is owned and operated by Arqiva.
The station was constructed in the mid-1950s among the ruins of the Crystal Palace. The Aquarium on whose site it stands was destroyed in 1941 during the demolition of the Palace's north water tower. (John Logie Baird's earlier transmitter and TV studios were a separate development at the other end of the Palace and perished with it in 1936.) Its new 219-metre (719 ft)tower was the tallest structure in London until the topping-out of One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in 1990.
The first transmission from Crystal Palace took place on 28 March 1956, when it succeeded the transmitter at Alexandra Palace where the BBC had started the world's first scheduled television service in November 1936. In November 1956 the first colour test transmissions began from Crystal Palace, relaying live pictures from the studios at Alexandra Palace after BBC TV had closed down for the night. In May 1958 the first experimental Band V 625-line transmissions started from Crystal Palace.
This tower was designed and built for BBC by British Insulated Callender's Construction Co. Ltd., with steelwork fabrication by Painter Brothers Ltd. of Hereford. The tower was required to transmit television programmes with good reception in 1957, and has a total height of 708 feet (216 m). The base of the tower is 120 feet (37 m) to a side, and it rises in twelve diminishing panels to a 14.5 feet (4.4 m) square platform at a height of 429 feet (131 m). The tower was constructed using two masts as derricks, one 230 feet (70 m) and the other 125 feet (38 m) high, in conjunction with a winch. At the time, a 16mm film of the construction by BICC was produced; this was available on loan from the BICC Film Library

[@chrisst8922]

I have this on VHS. I bought it at a fete held some years ago at Crystal Palace Park. BTW, narrator, Bob Danvers-Walker is the guy going up there.

[@Martock1017]

Several references were made to the provision of Band III aerials on the upper part of the mast. Band III included Channel 9 which had just started to be used by ITV, transmitting from a temporary small tower at the nearby Croydon site. Perhaps the original intention was to transmit ITV on a permanent basis from Crystal Palace. ITV didn't share the Crystal Palace site until 1969, when BBC1 and ITV were first transmitted on 625-lines and in colour on UHF (Band IV). A larger tower was built at Croydon in the late '50s and the small one dismantled and shipped to the Channel Islands to bring ITV to Jersey, Guernsey and the other islands. A very interesting video about the construction of what is still a very impressive structure. After the main film there was also a few minutes of silent video-taped content about routine maintenance checks on a UHF TV relay station.

[@old0trekkie]

The Band III aerials referred to were intended by the BBC for a BBC2 service. In the end, this never happened and Band III was used for ITV. BBC2 didn't start until 625 lines/UHF came.

[@Martock1017]

@@old0trekkie Thanks for the info. I visited Crystal Palace transmitter site once in 1969 when I was with the BBC Communications Dept. At the time there must have been odd tropospheric conditions as many of the receivers used to monitor the relay stations were receiving Dutch TV. The engineers on site said that this often happened.

[@GMT439]

The Palace was actually a Hydro power station. It's function was to power this transmitter which was not purely a communications TRANSmiTT3R.

[@WilsonPendarvis-tn3wm]

Good show I must say

[@Woffy.]

How overly engineered this structure had to be in part to accommodate the limited capabilities of the various cranes and plant available at that time. What is amazing is the skill of the winch operator at ground level manipulating several tons of steel on over 500 feet of cable with such precision. Today a Liebherr crane is capable of lifting a third of the whole tower several hundred feet! . Lovely looking tower which I first had sight of 60 years ago, as a young boy I thought it was the Eiffel tower. Thanks for posting this treasure.

[@turboslag]

Extremely interesting. Just imagine the palava that would be involved in constructing that today!! There would be 5 years of talking about it before anything happened and no one would be even allowed on site without the authorised ppe, and every step would need 3 days of sign off!!! We just got things done back then.

[@kh-ro5su]

well contrary to your weird death fantasies involving blue collar workers putting themselves at extreme risk, things do still get done today - with more efficiency than they could even hope to dream of in the 1950s thanks to over half a century of engineering and construction evolution. also, they still had to go through the proper processes back in those days. do you think they just decided to build a tower and nobody would notice? no, they applied for building permits the same way we do these days. the main difference is that health and safety was not as strict back then, therefore a lot of people got unnecessarily injured or died in those days

[@turboslag]

@@kh-ro5su Don't make me laugh! Local to me a stretch of road no more than 1.5 miles long, a notorious local bottle neck, was recently widened to dual carriageway. It took SIX years!!!! The M1 motorway was constructed in 18 months!!! And what about HS2, way over budget and running way over completion date. Same with cross rail and Hinckley point C. Seems the more advanced and efficient we get, the longer it takes to complete anything!!

[@borntoclimb7116]

​@@turboslag in Germany Frankfurt they build 4 skyscrapers in Just 5 years, tallest tower in 233 meters in height. It is the Four Project, this one here is just a steeltower 219 meters tall. Nothing in comparsion to a Building, stil great, i love steeltowers but why have so many another countries to struggle with projects today.

[@dglcomputers1498]

Nope, the Bilsdale replacement transmitter took about a year to build, and that included getting approval in a conservation zone. Naturally no PPE no job is one of the most sensible things that ever happened, people's lives used to be worth nothing and you could be easily replaced, bung a bit of cash to the next of kin and all was well. Luckily people's lives have value now and as such health and safety is much more important.

[@returnofthegmac9203]

Core I have lived by this tower for over 30 years and never knew it was named the Phoenix Tower. I had often wonderd how this was built. What am amazing feat of engineers

[@johnfisher5465]

Fascinating

[@joshuagalka3526]

Cool

[@kaykiekid]

I wonder if this tower is still standing? If it is, I also wonder if the tower is being used for 5g cell service today. Wonderful story! ❤️ I'm fascinated by these documentaries. Thanks! 😊👍❤

[@returnofthegmac9203]

Yes it is and situated in the South East of London I live two miles from it.

[@kaykiekid]

@returnofthegmac9203 Hello, and thanks from Bayonne, NJ. It's great that the tower is still, even today, helping folks with modern technology. Fascinating! 😊

[@returnofthegmac9203]

@@kaykiekid You are more than welcome This is the Tower today kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4GygXZnnrGomrMsi=ovY2KuMgwp1nP4fe Enjoy

[@returnofthegmac9203]

@@kaykiekid This is how we are talking too each other 👍

[@kh-ro5su]

it still stands, operates and remains one of the tallest structures in london

[@jonthebru]

Not one element of safety equipment in sight! Back when men were brave.