SNN110403 - Historic Building Recording at Rugby Radio Station, B Building, Lilbourne, Northampton, May 2015

MOLA Northampton carried out a programme of historic building recording at B Building of the Rugby Radio Station, Lilbourne, Northamptonshire. Rugby Radio Station began operations in 1926, and originally comprised a single main building (Building C) which was joined in 1929 by A Building. As a response to an increased demand for communications technology and a need to expand the facility, B Building was constructed in 1953 and formally opened in 1955. It comprised three transmitter halls containing 28 transmitters, two aerial switching rooms, transformer blocks, administration block and a range of training and development rooms and buildings. The layout of the building remained largely unchanged until the 1980s and early 1990s when it was converted to carry long range maritime services. This conversion comprised a technological upgrade accompanied by a degree of internal remodelling and partitioning, largely within the transmitter halls. As part of this conversion, the original transmitters and associated plant and equipment were removed from the building. B Building remained in operation until 2000, its closure brought about by advances in communications technology which largely rendered the facility redundant. The building is scheduled for demolition in 2015 as part of a wider scheme of redevelopment of the area.