Description

MAWGAN IN MENEAGE

SW72SW GOONHILLY DOWNS
1843/2/10015 ANTENNA NO. 1 AT GOONHILLY SATELLITE E
26-MAR-03 ARTH STATION

(Formerly listed as:
GOONHILLY DOWNS
BRITISH TELECOM EARTH/SATELLITE STATIO
N NO 1)

II*
Satellite Communication Antenna. Designed c.1958, built 1960-2 by Husband and Company (engineers, design consultant Mr Kington) and the General Post Office, whose scientists included John Taylor and John Bray. Gordon Smith, assisted by John Thompson, developed the tracking system. Reinforced concrete base building, frames and portal beam supporting an 85 foot diameter dish (updated in 1963) and counterweights connected by a steel lattice backing structure. The structure was designed to be wholly mobile, capable of moving 360 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically, though this mobility is now rarely needed as satellites are fixed in geostationary orbits. The diameter of the framed stainless steel dish is some 30m and the whole dynamic structure on twin bipods is mounted on roller bearings on a circular concrete base.

History: Goonhilly is the oldest satellite earth station in England and is rightly recognised as the birthplace of satellite communication. In 1962, the first antenna (Arthur) was built to receive and send signals to the first active communication satellite known as Telstar. Following the success of this venture more and more satellites were launched and further antennae erected as global communication mushroomed. Goonhilly was always at the leading edge of developing satellite communication technology and by 2004 a total of 64 antennae were present on the site, making it the largest in the world. In September 2006, following a business review, the decision was taken to scale down activities at Goonhilly and transfer them to Madley in Herefordshire. Antenna No. 1 was listed Grade II on the 26th March 2003 and its owners intend to retain it as part of their operations at Goonhilly.

Sources: : BT, Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station Experience, 2005.
Dalton Warner Davis, Report Containing Representations on the Proposed English Heritage Listing
Assessment at Goonhilly Earth Station, 2008.
www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk/content/view/42/58/ Accessed 15th April 2008
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/dec/27/news.uknews Accessed 15th April 2008
www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/satcomhistory.html Accessed 22.04.2008

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
Antenna No. 1 at Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station is designated at Grade II*, for the following principal reasons:
* It was built to receive the first live transatlantic television pictures
* It formed the successful prototype for all satellite receiving antennae
* The success of the antenna led to the highly sophisticated modern global communication
network upon which much of C21 life revolves
* The antenna possesses a dramatic visual quality enhanced by its heathland setting

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17535707

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)