It was constructed in 1961 by the IBA to transmit ITV 405-line television with transmissions commencing on Band III channel 9 from antennas at 450 m (1,475 ft) above sea level.

Stockland Hill was the second transmitter in the south west of England to have its analogue television transmissions shut off.

This includes cities and towns such as Exeter, Sidmouth, Tiverton, Exmouth, Taunton, Yeovil, Bridport, Weymouth and Sherborne.

405-line VHF ITV television arrived in the southwest with the simultaneous building of this station and Caradon Hill 60 miles (100 km) to the west in Cornwall.

The VHF 405-line system was discontinued across the UK, and from that point for the next 23 years, television from Stockland Hill was the originally-intended four channels on UHF only.