I have seen this movie dozens of times, and this is the second source that I have seen that said there are tv antenna's on the roofs as the balloon is taking off. I can see lightning rods, but no tv ant. Lightning rods were first put into use in 1752 (a hundred years earlier), and Ben Franklin was one of the original inventors. see if you agree.
shareSeeing as how the set was a miniature it's more likely that whoever submitted the "trivia" mistook the lightning rods (put there by the model builders) for TV arials.
shareThe setting for the balloon take off at the beginning wasn't a model.
The scene was shot in the UK and, as far as I am aware most, if not all roof TV arials in around 1960 were "H" shaped, on a pole which attached to the centre of the "H" crossbar. (Colour TV arials, which look different, didn't come until five or so years later>)
It's difficult to tell on TV as the scene is dark but I don't think that the constructions on the roofs are H shaped.
From goofs
Revealing mistakes: Set in 1860 but the balloon rises above a nest of TV aerials.
That doesn't necessarily mean anything. The content on IMDB is user generated so anyone can submit a comment like that e.g. after confusing lightning rods for TV aerials. (Not that professional writers can't be amazingly sloppy too.)
shareApparently somebody has removed the comment you were trying to link, but I actually know exactly where the scene was shot, and yes TV aerials are shown on the roof tops.
I was bored one evening many years ago and put this film on using my laserdisc and Barco projector for an 8' picture. The buildings looked very familiar and I told myself if a river appeared behind them when the balloon rose I would have validation. There was the river, and that would be the River Thames. I stayed for weeks in the The Warren Lodge which is in the group of buildings where this was shot, in Church Square, Shepperton, England. The aerials were a standard UHF design that were being used in the UK.
Oh Lord, you gave them eyes but they cannot see...