History
Depden does not really qualify as a Post Office microwave site however it appears on the 1959 Network Map as "existing" and was established around 1955 to provide an interim feed to the BBC television transmitter at Tacolneston. The link is of historical significance since it was the first to operate at 2 GHz, using GEC equipment (type unknown) given Post Office designation RS 9/2.
The site used the roof of a water tower (still existing) with a 2 GHz link to Tacolneston and a guyed wooden pole with Band I antennas receiving Alexandra Palace. Some of the VHF receiving equipment was housed in a standard street cabinet but the rest of the station was either inside the base of the tower or in trailers. There was apparently no suitable electricity supply so the installation was powered by a generator.
This arrangement proved unsatisfactory when the London transmitter moved from Alexandra Palace to Crystal Palace (initially at low power) and a temporary 4 GHz link was used from "Thaxted" (site not located) to Depden. Once Crystal Palace started full power operation in September 1956 it was possible to return to the original arrangement, receiving directly at Depden.
By the late 1950s the nearby site at Wickhambrook had come into operation, carrying television feeds from London for ITV and Birmingham for the BBC. The Post Office Engineer in Chief's Annual Report confirms the link between Depden and Tacolneston was withdrawn during 1961-62.
Despite the temporary nature of Depden the Post Office had contracted with the BBC to provide the link on the basis that any "early" termination would result in a penalty. It seems a compromise was reached by redeploying the equipment to provide a new link for the BBC between Wickhambrook and Manningtree from 1962.
