History
Rowridge was established as a Post Office SHF station as part of the arrangements for the BBC transmitter which entered service in 1954, forming the end-point of a 4 GHz link from Golden Pot. Initially a temporary tower (provided by the PO) was used for the television transmitter, with a single dish for the link, and the Post Office had their own area within the main building. Later the BBC completed their own guyed mast and the PO dish was transferred, however at some stage, possibly in the late 1950s, a separate tower was added for the PO links which had expanded to include a route from London to Southampton and Chillerton Down for the IBA. This link ran on 4 GHz from Golden Pot to Rowridge, then cable to Chillerton Down and a 2 GHz link to Southampton with local cable to the Southern Television studios. The entire route was made two-way so programmes from Southern could be sent to the ITA network and to the company's other transmitter at Dover, also via London.
The Golden Pot route apparently proved unsatisfactory for the ITA's requirements and perhaps was unable to be upgraded for UHF television. A new route was brought into service in the late 1960s running from London via Bagshot and Butser Hill to Thornhill, near Southampton, again providing links for ITV and BBC.
When visited in 2016 there were still large dishes at Thornhill facing Rowridge (but not on the other routes) so it is possible an SHF link across the Solent has been maintained, at least on a "standby" basis.