Construction
The mast was constructed in 1965 and it came into service on 20 December of that year. As built it was a tubular pipe 900 feet long by 9 feet in diameter, surmounted by a 365 ft lattice upper section. (An identical mast was constructed in 1964 at Emley Moor near Huddersfield in Yorkshire, but that mast collapsed due to guy failure caused by icing and high winds on 19 March 1969.)
In September 1967 meteorological equipment was added to the 1,265 ft mast extending its height to 1,272 ft (387.7m). The imperial measurement was the accepted value quoted by a number of publications, including the 1993 edition of the Guinness Book of Records. The metric measurement quoted by the current owners is 0.2 m (8 in) shorter.
Between October 2009 and April 2010 the mast was shortened as part of the Digital Switchover works, most of the top section above the fifth stay level was removed (along with the sixth stay level) and the mast now stands 351.65m high.
Read more about this topic: Belmont Transmitting Station
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