Stockland Hill transmitting station
Stockland Hill transmitting station (Devon)
The Stockland Hill transmitting station near Honiton is a tall mast used for FM radio and UHF television. It was built in 1961 by the IBA to broadcast ITV’s 405-line TV on VHF Band III channel 9 from an antenna about 450 metres above sea level. Colour television began in 1971, and Channel 4 started in November 1982. The site never transmitted analogue Channel Five.
Digital television arrived in 1998, and the digital switchover was completed in May 2009. It was the second transmitter in the South West to switch off analogue TV; BBC Two was shut down on 6 May 2009 and the remaining analogue services by around midnight on 20 May 2009.
Today Stockland Hill broadcasts all digital multiplexes at their planned power levels, with the three public service multiplexes at 50 kW and the other three at 25 kW. The transmitter serves East Devon, West Somerset and West Dorset, including Exeter, Sidmouth, Tiverton, Exmouth, Taunton, Yeovil, Bridport, Weymouth and Sherborne.
Historically, ITV’s 405-line service arrived with Stockland Hill alongside Caradon Hill in Cornwall. UHF colour TV began, and the UK’s fourth UHF channel started. The 405-line service was phased out, and for many years Stockland Hill carried UHF transmissions.
During the digital rollout, digital services were added to the existing analogue signals. Switchover began with BBC Two analogue moving off its channel, then the other analogue channels followed, and the BBC A multiplex started on its new channel at full power. After switchover, analogue signals were turned off entirely and the new digital multiplexes took over, though full power for some multiplexes was delayed due to interference with Rowridge and signals from France.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:44 (CET).