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Latitude: 54.7898 / 54°47'23"N
Longitude: -1.5832 / 1°34'59"W
OS Eastings: 426902
OS Northings: 543959
OS Grid: NZ269439
Mapcode National: GBR KFD1.1S
Mapcode Global: WHC4J.NVBY
Plus Code: 9C6WQCQ8+WP
Entry Name: County Police Communication Tower
Listing Date: 26 March 2003
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1350340
English Heritage Legacy ID: 490150
Also known as: Durham police mast
ID on this website: 101350340
Location: Framwellgate Moor, County Durham, DH1
County: County Durham
Electoral Ward/Division: Neville's Cross
Parish: City of Durham
Traditional County: Durham
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): County Durham
Church of England Parish: Durham St Cuthbert
Church of England Diocese: Durham
Tagged with: Tower
NZ24SE
1914/4/10017
AYKLEY HEADS
County Police Communication Tower
26-MAR-03
II
Radio mast for the Durham County Police. 1965-68 to the designs of Ove Arup and Partners. Reinforced concrete, 49.4m tall, plus top aerial spigot mounting, comprising a mast on three legs. It was decided from the start that the structure should be precast in five elements comprising mast unit, three leg units and a key unit connection. In this way the need for full height scaffolding and formwork was avoided. After precasting, the leg and key units were erected to form a tripod on an in situ foundation. Subsequently the mast unit was lifted into position by two giant cranes. There was thus no need to support the structure against the wind during its construction. It was more desirable to have the mast superimposed on a tripod as opposed to a pure shaft, as this avoided high bending moments at ground level. This not only aids the radio operation but gave a more elegant form to the structure.
This one-off elegant design in reinforced concrete was a response to the sensitive site overlooking Durham Cathedral. Concrete enabled a slender mast to be built within the required wind tolerances, to avoid bending which would distort the narrow radio frequencies. The tripod base enabled the mast to be made still more slender while meeting this very precise brief.
Concrete Society Awards 1969, special mention
Source
Building, 27 September 1968, p.114
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