North Hessary Tor

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North Hessary Tor
Devon
North Hessary.jpg
North Hessary Tor, with mast
Range: Dartmoor
Summit: 1,696 feet SX578742
50°33’1"N, 4°0’30"W

North Hessary Tor is a hill 1,696 feet high on Dartmoor. On the hill's eastern slope is Princetown, the home of Dartmoor Prison. The tor is one of the boundary points mentioned in the perambulations of the Forest of Dartmoor.[1]

The western slope of the hill is scarred with the Foggintor Quarry, from which came the granite from which the prison is built, and buildings across the land – including Nelson's Column in London.

Standing on the summit is the North Hessary Tor transmitting station; an FM radio and television transmitter which uses a guyed mast 643 feet high, built by the BBC in 1955 when a transmitter was needed to introduce 405 line television into Devon. It now carries a small UHF TV transmitter which serves Princetown and Dartmoor. FM radio transmissions began in 1956 and cover most of Devon and eastern parts of Cornwall.

Outside links

References

  1. Brewer, Dave (2002). Dartmoor Boundary Markers. Tiverton, Devon: Halsgrove. p. 34. ISBN 1-84114-172-0.