Rampisham Down was the location of one of the main transmitters of the BBC World Service in Europe until it was shut in 2011.

The 189-acre site was acquired by the BBC in November 1939 and the station, known as Overseas Extension 3 (OSE3), was equipped with four Marconi type SWB 18, 100 kW short-wave transmitters.

Beaumont, who was part of the original installation team writes: 'I have vivid recollections of my colleagues during these years when we completed the installation and putting into service of the station to the accompaniment of the Luftwaffe's efforts to put southern England out of action and I can still recall the line of craters left on the north side of the road opposite the station by a stick of bombs deposited by a German bomber one night and the cannon shells which penetrated the diesel generator building on another occasion.

Aerial dog fights between large formations of German bombers and our defending fighters became a daily occurrence‘.

Following extensive budget cuts by the BBC World Service, due to the ceasing of funding by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the site was earmarked for closure in Summer 2011.

Sender 48 was the final transmitter on-air, broadcasting Deutsche Welle's German service to Europe on 6075 kHz between 21:00 and 21:59.

In August 2013 Rampisham Down was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England, in recognition of a very large area of lowland acid grassland occurring on the whole site, together with areas of lowland heath habitat.

The acid grassland is largely agriculturally unimproved and forms the largest area of this habitat in the county of Dorset.

[5] British Solar Renewables asked for the public inquiry, set to take place in September 2016, to be put "on hold", pending an application to develop an adjacent site that is less controversial.