Telegraph House
Binsted
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| Semaphore House, Binsted, was built in 1825 as part of the Admiralty Semaphore chain. It superseded an earlier system called the Admiralty Shutter Telegraph. The intention was to provide a number of key relay stations forming a line of communication, or a communication channel, between important points. In this case a visual semaphore link between Plymouth and London. The building, 170 years later, is now a private residence and has been renamed Telegraph House. |
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Telegraph House Binsted
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The first semaphore link, the Admiralty Shutter Telegraph, went from the existing Admiralty Building in London to the Portsmouth Dockyard. The route for visual semaphore communications went via stations at:
The second chain was intended to run from London to Plymouth. The River Hill Station, as Semaphore House was known, was actually built in 1828/29 but the second chain was never completed before it was decided to change the system. Work was discontinued in 1847 when the Admiralty came to an agreement to lay an electrical telegraph wire along railway lines to Gosport and then via a submarine cable into Portsmouth Dockyard. The idea had been superseded by a new technology - the Electric Telegraph. Other stations forming part of this second link would have included Worplesdon, the Hogs Back and Farringdon Common. The current building that is now Telegraph House has been modified over the years with added extensions but is still very recognisable and an active imagination will easily visualise the passing of semaphore messages 170 years ago. |
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