Broadcasting House, Bristol


Broadcasting House, Bristol
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General information
Coordinates51°27′40″N 2°36′29″W / 51.46111°N 2.60806°W / 51.46111; -2.60806

The BBC campus, Broadcasting House Bristol, is located on Whiteladies Road, Bristol. The first building to be occupied was 21/23 Whiteladies Road, which was built in 1852 and is a Grade II listed building,[1] with four radio studios. It was formally opened by the Lord Mayor of Bristol on 18 September 1934.[2] The BBC has been on the same site ever since.

Prior to the opening of Broadcasting House, the BBC had provided a more limited service. It began broadcasting on 13 February 1923 from Marconi House in the Strand.[3] Operating as its 5WA station (this being the fifth BBC station to go on air) the new station broadcast to people living within 25 miles of Bristol. The station's initial output was very limited and even in 1931 the programme centre employed a staff of just three people, operating from a small studio over the Midland Bank in Queen's Road.[4]

  1. ^ Historic England. "Nos.21 and 23 Broadcasting House (1202692)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  2. ^ "The BBC in Bristol". BBC. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  3. ^ John Penny, On the Air: a short history of broadcasting to the Bristol area (Bristol Historical Association pamphlets, no. 102, 2001), p. 2
  4. ^ John Penny, On the Air: a short history of broadcasting to the Bristol area (Bristol Historical Association pamphlets, no. 102, 2001), p. 4