The Wrekin's iconic 200ft transmitter tower marks 50 years of broadcasting across Shropshire and beyond
The Wrekin transmitting station, one of the region’s most familiar broadcast landmarks, is marking 50 years of continuous service to communities across Shropshire, the West Midlands and parts of Wales.
With its distinctive 200ft mast standing tall on the summit of the Wrekin, near Wellington, the station was brought into service in December 1975, completing the country’s original television network and becoming the last main high-power analogue transmitter to be built in England and Wales. Its arrival transformed television reception across the region, replacing a patchwork of smaller relay sites with a single, powerful transmitter serving hundreds of thousands of homes.
Today the mast with its steadily blinking lights is an unmistakable Telford landmark, visible from across Shropshire and beyond, night and day. The transmitter continues to deliver Freeview television, FM and DAB radio services, as well as supporting national communications and resilience networks operated by Arqiva. From the earliest analogue broadcasts to today’s digital services, the site has played a constant role in keeping people connected.
Over the decades, the Wrekin has been part of every major change and upgrade in broadcasting. It carried the first colour television services for the county, switched fully to digital in 2011, and was later upgraded to meet the UK’s 700 MHz spectrum clearance programme. Regular investment has kept it operating efficiently and reliably, supported by modern remote-monitoring systems and low-energy transmitters.
Mark Steele, chief of operations at Arqiva, said: “For 50 years, the Wrekin has been a trusted part of life in Shropshire. It connects communities, carries vital information, and continues to stand as a symbol of progress. The engineers who built it could hardly have imagined the technologies it supports today, but its purpose remains the same, to keep people informed, entertained and connected.”
History of the Wrekin's mast: A special television transmitter that caused a furore - by Mark Andrews
For half a century the Wrekin television transmitter has been one of Shropshire's most famous landmarks.
But opinions were firmly divided when it was first built on the top of the famous beauty spot back in 1975. And strict planning conditions required that the station had to be carefully designed to minimise the impact on the landscape.
