Rugby Radio Station

This is a radio transmission station built in 1925 by Post Office Engineers. It is constructed of red brick in English bond, originally with a hipped pantile roof which was replaced with a double-skin flat metal roof following a fire in 1943. The building has a classical design and an H-shaped plan, comprising a three-storey front range containing transmission equipment and a two-storey generator hall to the rear, connected by a single-storey corridor.

The front facade features a central two-storey entrance lobby in the form of a projecting square kiosk. This has a deep, two-storey entrance arch with an ashlar surround, a triangular pediment supported by console brackets, a metal-framed fanlight, and a semi-circular window above. A stone entablature runs along the top of the wall. Circular windows are set within the lower levels of the entrance lobby, and triple windows are above the arch. Flanking the central lobby are single-storey wings, each with five bays of sash windows. The main body of the block behind the entrance has cross windows to the ground floor and eight round-arched windows to the third floor. The original design included a wooden cornice with paired brackets and deep eaves. The ground floor openings have banded brick rustication and cambered arches, while the first floor contains loading doors with platforms and the third floor features Diocletian windows. Most of these ground and third-floor openings have been blocked. The rear elevation has eight cross windows to the upper part of the ground floor, which is largely obscured by later additions, and eight round-arched windows to the third floor. The generator hall, attached by a corridor, is wider than the transmission block and has twelve round-arched windows to its southwest front.

Inside, most of the original equipment has been replaced, but the plan form of the large upper and lower halls in the front range and the power hall in the generator block remain.

The building reflects a sense of national pride in the new technology it housed, as described in contemporary technical publications. It was widely used by the Post Office for publicity purposes after its opening.