RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station near
StanmoreStanmore is a suburban area of the London Borough of Harrow, in northwest London. It is situated northwest of Charing Cross. The area is home to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, high.-Toponymy:...
in the
London Borough of HarrowThe London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
. It was famous as the headquarters of
Fighter CommandRAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
during the
Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
and the Second World War. The RAF Bentley Priory site includes a
Grade II* listed Officers' Mess and Italian Gardens. These, together with the park are designated a Registered Garden Grade II.
Originally built in 1766, Bentley Priory was significantly extended in 1788, by Sir John Soane, for
John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of AbercornJohn James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn KG, PC was an Irish peer and politician.-Background:He was the son of Captain Hon. John Hamilton and grandson of James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn. He was educated at Harrow and Pembroke College, Cambridge...
. The priory was the final home of the Dowager
Queen AdelaidePrincess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
, queen consort of
William IVWilliam IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
, before her death there in 1849. It subsequently served as a hotel and girls' school before being acquired by the Royal Air Force in 1926.
The Royal Air Force station role ceased on 30 May 2008, following the relocation of units to their new accommodation at
RAF NortholtRAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...
and the site will be used for private accommodation and the Officers' Mess will become a Battle of Britain museum.
The land south of the house is the
Bentley Priory Nature ReserveBentley Priory Nature Reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Local Nature Reserve in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It is a 55 hectare mosaic of ancient woodland, unimproved neutral grassland, scrub, wetland, streams and an artificial lake, an unusual combination of...
, a
Site of Special Scientific InterestA Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
maintained by Harrow Heritage Trust.
Medieval beginnings
Although little detail is known, the lands of
Bentley PrioryBentley Priory was a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in Harrow Weald, then in Middlesex but now in the London Borough of Harrow. There are no remains of the priory, but it probably stood near Priory House, off Clamp Hill....
and the surrounding area were scantily populated but civilised long before the time of the Romans. At the time the first Priory was dedicated, the majority of the area was in the Manor of Harrow. The rest of the land in which the Priory now stands was in the area held by the Count of Mortain and known as Stanmore Magna.
Although the area was in part heavily wooded, many Anglo Saxon finds have been made indicating thriving communities around Brockley Hill and
Harrow Weald CommonHarrow Weald is an area in north-west London, England. It includes a suburban development and forms part of the London Borough of Harrow.-Locale, geography and history:...
. Professor J E B Gover in his book Place Names of Middlesex, derives the word Bentley from Anglo-Saxon: the prefix Bent from 'beonet', a kind of coarse grass or bent grass and the suffix ley from 'leah, a tract of cultivated or cultivable land, a piece of land cleared from forest for pasture, etc. Thus the name Bentley would seem to mean land artificially cleared of coarse grass for pasture or cultivation.
By the time the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, William the Conqueror had invested his own bishop (Lansfranc) with the Archbishopric of Canterbury and restored the lands of Harrow, appropriated by
King EdwardEdward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, to the Church. The original Priory, which was the only monastic establishment in the Manor of Harrow, housed a cell Augustinian Friars. It is believed to have been founded in 1170 by Ranulf de Glanville who was a lawyer, appointed in 1180 as Chief Justiciary of England. He resigned his office in 1190 to join the Crusades. While taking part in the siege of Acre, he gained the unfortunate distinction of being the first English nobleman to be killed on Crusade.
The first Priory was purported by Druett in his book, The Stanmores and Harrow Weald Through the Ages, to stand further downhill than the present building. He places it in the area of Priory House on Clamp Hill, with the chapel standing apart on Harrow Weald Common. However, the evidence to substantiate this is inconclusive. It would appear that a small agricultural hamlet existed in the shadow of the Priory Chapel. This Chapel, of which all trace has been lost, is believed to have served the 'city' community that lived on the Weald.
Apart from a short list of Priors from this period in The Victoria County Hospital of Middlesex, the only other reference to the Priory is in Chronicle by Mathew Paris who was a monk and chief copyist at St Albans. He mentions under the date 1248 the story 'Of the Miserable Death of the Priory of Bentley'. Apparently a hayrick fell upon him whilst he was inspecting it.
Another early reference to the Priory can be found in The Harrow Rolls of 1512, These state that:
'The Priory was built in honour of St Mary Magdalene, and the Archbishop of Canterbury beyond memory gave the Priory with all its lands to the Priory of St Gregory without the wall of Canterbury, and to the convent there in pure alms; that they form time of such grant used to find a priest to celebrate Mass and other divine services in the chapel within the Priory each week, and that the priest used to be called the Prior of Bentley'.
- "Thus Bentley Priory and its lands, apart from being passed back and forth between church and lay owners in its early years, managed to avoid falling into the covetous hands of its neighbours."
No longer a religious establishment
The Priory's religious days were over and it passed through various hands until it was ultimately sold in 1766 to James Duberley, an Army contractor. James Duberley is thought to have pulled down the original Priory building before having a more imposing house built on a higher point of the ridge some distance from the original site. Druett based his idea that the original site of the Priory can be found further down the slope at Priory House on the supposition that Duberley would have built higher on the ridge, 'to show off the evidence of his wealth and importance'.
In 1788 James Duberley sold the Priory to
John James HamiltonJohn James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn KG, PC was an Irish peer and politician.-Background:He was the son of Captain Hon. John Hamilton and grandson of James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn. He was educated at Harrow and Pembroke College, Cambridge...
, the 9th Earl of Abercorn. On his elevation in the peerage the following year to Marquess he made extensive alterations to the house and park. He commissioned Sir John Soane, one of the most pre-eminent 18th century architects, to extend and refurbish the house in a more lavish and sumptuous manner, and the outside of the house as it appears today is largely due to his money and Soane's vision (although the clock tower was added at a later date).
The refurbishments included a gallery of fine paintings, several large apartments and a grand staircase of Portland stone; the intricate wooden banister is thought to have been added by Sir John Kelk. In the early 1860s, Sir Robert Smirke (architect of the British Museum) was commissioned by the Marquess to make further additions to the Priory.
The Marquess lived at the Priory as a true nobleman of his day. He was the only man who held peerage titles in all three kingdoms: England, Scotland and Ireland. As a result of his influence the Priory soon became a rendezvous for many political and literary celebrities. Visitors included
PittWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
,
WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
,
CanningGeorge Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, the Lords
LiverpoolRobert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool KG PC was a British politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since the Union with Ireland in 1801. He was 42 years old when he became premier in 1812 which made him younger than all of his successors to date...
and
SidmouthHenry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC was a British statesman, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804....
, and the poets Woodworth, Moore, and Campbell.
Sir WilliamSir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...
and
Lady Emma HamiltonEmma, Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old...
(who was later the mother of Lord Nelson's illegitimate daughter
HoratiaHoratia Nelson, christened as Horatia Nelson Thompson was the illegitimate daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson.-Early life:...
) and thespians
Mrs Sarah SiddonsSarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
and
John KembleJohn Philip Kemble was an English actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane...
were attracted to the beautiful surroundings.
Sir Walter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
was a frequent visitor in 1807, spending much of his time in the summerhouse which was built on an island in the lake, writing and revising Marmion. The lake is still in existence as part of the Bentley Priory Nature Reserve but can no longer be seen from the Priory due to the growth of surrounding trees. It is also no longer part of the Bentley Priory land.
JamesJames Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn KG PC , styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and the Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British Conservative politician and statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.In 1860, The Times noted that Hamilton was one of only three to...
, a boy of seven when he became the Second Marquess, took up residence in the Priory with his guardian,
Lord AberdeenGeorge Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen KG, KT, FRS, PC , styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a Scottish politician, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855.-Early life:Born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1784, he...
. As well as being his uncle by marriage, Aberdeen became his stepfather in 1815 when he married the widow of Lord Hamilton. Until 1832, when James came of age, the Priory became the principal rendezvous of the Tory Party. Upon reaching his majority the second Marquess married and lived only intermittently at the Priory. His third son,
Lord Ernest HamiltonLord Ernest William Hamilton was a United Kingdom soldier and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892....
, says in his reminiscences that his father was 'compelled to leave Stanmore in self-preservation'. The house was so close to London that many of his friends visited. They were so enamoured of the place that Lady Blessington had called 'the most singular place on Earth' that they outstayed their welcome. The family became nomadic, searching for a place to settle in England and living in furnished houses while their possessions were packed away.
Queen Adelaide
In 1846, Dowager
Queen AdelaidePrincess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and of Hanover as spouse of William IV of the United Kingdom. Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is named after her.-Early life:Adelaide was born on 13 August 1792 at Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany...
, widow of
William IVWilliam IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
, leased the Priory, but it was not until 1848 that she finally moved in. By this time she was quite ill from dropsy, and on her arrival apparently found the stairs too much to cope with. A suite of rooms were prepared for her on the ground floor and it was in these rooms that she would receive Queen Victoria, her niece, and
Prince AlbertPrince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
during their visits.
Speculation remains over the reason for the decoration of the ceiling in the room we call today the Adelaide Room. It was long believed that the ceiling was painted with frescos depicting the Arts and four Seasons to give Queen Adelaide something of interest to look at while lying sick in bed. However, on the basis of evidence obtained from the Royal Library at
Windsor CastleWindsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, it now seems likely that she actually used the area of the present VIP suite for her bedroom and that this was where she died on 2 December 1849 at the age of 57.
After Queen Adelaide's death, the Priory was scarcely used until the estate was bought by Sir John Kelk in 1863. Sir John Kelk was an eminent Victorian engineer, probably most notable as the contractor for the
Albert MemorialThe Albert Memorial is situated in Kensington Gardens, London, England, directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the...
. He also donated the
lychgateA lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
and lectern to Stanmore Church. The lych gate is still in existence and in regular use. Sir John began immediate improvements to the Priory spending £9,000 on the conservatories alone (demolished in 1939 in order to provide additional office space). He also added a picture gallery, a library, the clock tower, an orangery (which stood some way in front of the present main entrance) a cedar garden and a deer park.
An unsuccessful hotel
In its heyday, the Priory estate boasted no fewer than 20 gardeners. A Tuscan portico was added to the garden in front of the house (now the back) at about this time. The magnificent Oriental Plane tree was brought from abroad and planted around this time.
In 1882, the Priory was bought by Frederick Gordon, of Gordon Hotels, who converted it into a residential hotel. In 1884, he built a house, 'Glenthorn', in the Priory grounds for his family to live in. On the front of the house was the Gordon Badge (a flexed bow and arrow) and motto
Fortuna Sequatur, which means 'Let's Fortune Attend'. Despite surviving two World Wars, the house is no longer standing. Access to the hotel from London was not ideal, so Gordon had the railway line extended from Harrow to Stanmore for the convenience of his guests.
The railway cost £48,000 which Gordon raised by means of £36,000 in shares and £12,000 in debenture bonds. The remains of the old station can still be seen incorporated into a new building at the entrance to Gordon Avenue. It is almost certain that Gordon tried to sell the Priory in 1895.
Despite access to the Gordon Family records and research by Debanham, Tewson and Chinook who still practice in the city, no reason for the failure of the hotel has been identified nor why it was not auctioned unless, of course, it failed to meet its reserve price. Despite the railway, the hotel was never a financial success, so the Gordons and their eleven children moved from 'Glenthorn' into the Priory and lived there until the death of Frederick Gordon in 1908.
School days
The Priory changed hands yet again and was re-opened as a girls school. The school housed 70 boarders and it is interesting to note that there were 20 pianos in separate soundproof rooms. For several years the school prospered as a female preserve. Male staff were required to leave by 9:30pm when the gates were locked. Any man inadvertently entering the grounds was politely but rapidly removed.
However, after the Great War, probably due to the great financial depression, the school failed. At the end of the winter term, 28 December 1924, the school gates closed for good.
Royal Air Force history
Purchased by the Air Ministry
Bentley Priory remained unoccupied while various options were being investigated. Finally the estate was split into two lots, and on 25 March 1926, the Priory building and 40 acres (comprising the present grounds) were sold to the Air Ministry for a sum thought to be about £25,000. The remainder of the estate, about 240 acre (0.9712464 km²), were sold to a syndicate who divided it into plots for building purposes. Middlesex County Council bought 90 acres (364,217.4 m²), including the farm in front of the Priory which formed part of the Green Belt and the present Bentley Priory Open Space.
On 26 May 1926, Inland Area (Training Command), a part of the organization of the Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) moved into the Priory from Uxbridge. In July 1926, it was renamed 'Training Command' and moved to Market Drayton in Shropshire. As the RAF grew in size the organizational base expanded with it and the foundations were for an air defence system which proved to be well in advance of the force it was shortly to oppose.
The service was drastically reorganized with the creation of Bomber, Coastal, Fighter and Training Command. The existing ADGB was dissolved and RAF Fighter Command emerged on 14 July 1936. It left
Hillingdon HouseHillingdon House is a Grade II listed mansion in Hillingdon, Greater London. The original house was built in 1717 as a hunting lodge for the Duke of Schomberg. It was destroyed by fire and the present house was built in its place in 1844....
, at
RAF UxbridgeRAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force station in Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Its grounds covered originally belonging to the Hillingdon House estate, which was purchased by the British Government in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF...
on this date and moved to Bentley Priory with its first Air Officer Commanding
Air Chief MarshalAir chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Hugh Dowding. Fighter Command Headquarters remained at the Priory until its merger with the other operational commands in 1968.
A poem translated from
Gray's 'Luma Habitabilis' Cambridge 1797 is associated with the Priory. A copy of the poem was given to AOC 11 Gp on 22 November 1989 by the Rt Hon The Lord Harvington, who stated that he had intended reading it out to the House of Commons at the end of the Battle of Britain, but the copy had been lost. At the time Harvington was Wing Commander R G G F Harvington RAuxAF and Conservative member for North St Pancras. He felt it appropriate to quote this 18th century prophecy:
- "The time will come, when thou shalt lift thine eyes,
- To watch a long drawn battle in the skies,
- While aged peasants, too amazed for words,
- Stare at the flying fleets of wond'rous birds,
- England so long the mistress of the sea,
- Where winds and waves confess her sovereignty,
- Her ancient triumph yet on high shall bear,
- And reign, the sovereign of the conquered air."
Royal Observer Corps
The Observer Corps moved to RAF Bentley Priory from its original location at
RAF UxbridgeRAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force station in Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Its grounds covered originally belonging to the Hillingdon House estate, which was purchased by the British Government in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF...
, along with Dowding and Fighter Command, during July 1936 and would remain at the Priory until it was disbanded in December 1995. The Observer Corps was one of the cornerstones of Lord Dowding's air defence system and he said later in his despatch after the Battle of Britain:
- "It is important to note that at this time they (the Observer Corps) constituted the whole means of tracking enemy raids once they had crossed the coastline. Their work throughout was quite invaluable. Without it the air-raid warning systems could not have been operated and inland interceptions would rarely have been made."
As a result of their efforts during the Battle of Britain the Observer Corps was granted the title Royal by King George VI and became a uniformed volunteer branch of the RAF from April 1941 for the remainder of its existence. Throughout its service the
Royal Observer CorpsThe Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
was commanded by an RAF Air Commodore, each of whom served a tour of between three or four years.
When the Corps' first Commandant
Air Commodore Edward MastermanAir Commodore Edward Alexander Dimsdale Masterman CB CMG CBE AFC RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century...
CBThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
AFCThe Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(R’td) had stood down in April 1936,
Air Commodore Alfred Warrington-MorrisAir Commodore Alfred Drummond Warrington-Morris CB CMG OBE AFC RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century....
CBThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CMGThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
AFCThe Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
MiD
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(R’td) replaced him and took control of the Observer Corps during the important period immediately prior to the Second World War. He oversaw the move of HQ Observer Corps to Bentley Priory and the Corps’ adoption by
RAF Fighter CommandRAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
. He also controlled the Corps during the memorable events of the
Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
and was still at the helm when the Observer Corps was granted the title
Royal to become the
Royal Observer Corps and became a uniformed branch of the RAF. Warrington-Morris was Mentioned in Despatches in July 1940.
The corps was created to provide a system for detecting, tracking and reporting aircraft over Britain. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was complementary to and often replaced the
radarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
system in that it provided an 'over land' element while radar handled the 'over water approach' requirement. In 1955 the detection and reporting of nuclear blasts and fall-out was introduced. By 1965 the aircraft role was no longer needed and the corps formed the field force for the
United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring OrganisationThe United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation was a British civilian organisation operating between 1957 and 1992 to provide the authorities with data about nuclear explosions and forecasts of likely fallout profiles across the country in the event of war.The UKWMO was established and...
(UKWMO) until both organisations were disbanded after the
Cold warThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
ended.
Initially the Observer Corps presence at Bentley Priory included not only the small headquarters’ staff of a dozen officers and support staff but also around sixty spare time observers who filled essential plotting tasks in the Bentley Priory operations rooms. In 1955 the observers relocated to a new dedicated ROC operations centre in nearby
WatfordWatford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
. By 1968 the ROC headquarters consisted of its Air Commodore, 9 full time ROC officers and around 15 MoD civilian support staff. The ROC officers, several of whom ‘lived in’, took a full and active role in the life of the officers’ mess and frequently filled mess committee positions.
In 1992, a Royal Observer Corps stained glass window to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, was installed in the officers’ mess at RAF Bentley Priory. The window is located by the main door, just inside the corridor leading to the dining room and depicts two observers on duty at an Observer Corps post in central London with contrails overhead. The colourful window was constructed from an original design and drawing by Observer Lieutenant Commander A P Angove
FBIMThe Chartered Management Institute is a professional institution for managers, based in the United Kingdom.In addition to supporting its members, the organisation encourages management development, carries out research, produces a wide variety of publications on management interests, and publishes...
FITD, the Operations Training Officer (Ops Trg) at HQ ROC. The arched window was designed to balance a Royal Air Force stained glass window already located on the other side of the front door.
The 10,000 member main field force of the ROC were stood down on 30 September 1991, and the ROC's original 1966
Royal BannerA banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...
was laid up at
St Clement DanesSt Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to...
Church in the Strand, London where it remains on display, a new banner having been presented by HM The Queen in July 1991 during a Royal Review of the ROC and garden party at Bentley Priory. The Corps was dismantled following what was described by the Queen at the Royal Review as "the end of the Cold War" and linked to a Government press release that referred to "possible future developments and improvements in automated nuclear explosion and fallout detection from remote sensors".
The S Ad O, retitled as Senior ROC Officer (SROCO), Observer Commander N A Greig OBE and his adjutant Observer Lieutenant P Proost remained in post to administer the reduced ROC contingent under a revised RAF structure. Only the Nuclear Reporting Cell (NRC) elements of the Corps remained in service, working alongside major armed forces headquarters and they entered a new and highly-uncertain phase. Reduced to less than 300 members in total over the whole UK, the retained NRCs now found themselves tasked with the daunting challenge of providing a comprehensive Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
) warfare analysis and warning service for the Military Home Commands, on a reserve-manned basis as NBCCs but without the previous flow of data from posts and controls.
From 1991 onwards the "Remnant Elements" became a single reserve
Directly Administered Unit within
RAF Strike CommandThe Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
(RAFSTC). The position of Commandant ROC became a secondary appointment for the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of
No. 11 Group RAFNo. 11 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century, finally disbanding in 1996. Its most famous service was during 1940 when it defended London and the south-east against the attacks of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.-First World War:No. 11 Group was...
at Bentley Priory. All members were required to remove their original ROC Group designations from their RAF uniforms, and to accept moves towards a change in conditions of service during any Transition-To-War (
TTWTransition to war is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization military term referring to a period of international tension during which government and society move to an open war footing...
) that would make them effectively members of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), with protected rights, and closer links were made with the war-appointable flights of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
Despite having successfully built upon the extensive NBC reporting trials, undertaken with the RAF Regiment and meeting full NATO standards and evaluations (
STANAGSTANAG is the NATO abbreviation for Standardization Agreement, which sets up processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alliance. Each NATO state ratifies a STANAG and implements it within their own...
s and
OPEVALAn Operational Evaluation , the final phase of operational test and evaluation prior to fielding of a system or new equipment, is a process used by NATO military forces and designed to be no more than a 'customer acceptance' test...
s), the conclusion reached by the UK MoD was that retention of the Corps in its NBC Cell role was "desirable, but not essential in the existing format". As a consequence, the remaining part-time members of the ROC were stood-down on 31 December 1995, after a laying-up ceremony for the 1991 ROC Banner in the Rotunda at RAF College Cranwell in
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
on 8 Dec 1995. The ROC Banner remains on display in the RAFC Cranwell rotunda alongside other stood-down Air Force units and squadrons that are subject to liability for reactivation in the future. Headquarters ROC at RAF Bentley Priory finally closed on 31 March 1996 after all administrative winding-up tasks were completed. The last Commandant of the Corps was
Air Commodore Martin WiddowsonAir Commodore Martin Keith Widdowson was a British Royal Air Force pilot, a senior Royal Air Force officer in the 1980s and 1990s and the 23rd and last Commandant Royal Observer Corps.-Military career:...
.
Fighter Command
RAF Fighter CommandRAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
, under Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding with Air Commodore A D Cunningham as his Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) and Air Commodore N J Gill as Air Officer Administration (AOA), consisted of 76 officers, 71 airmen and 84 civilians (including the 70 Observer Corps personnel).
The units administered directly by HQ Fighter Command were No 11 (Fighter) Group, No 77 (Air Co-operation) Group and the Royal Observer Corps (from April 1941). In November 1938, No 3 Balloon Centre RAuxAF under command of Group Captain Bald was formed at Stanmore Park and came under the operational umbrella of Dowding. The location details for the 'barrages' were planned at Bentley Priory.
Prior to the outbreak of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, the Priory underwent many changes. Chief among these was the hurried adaptation of the two largest rooms (now the
anteroomAn antechamber is a smaller room or vestibule serving as an entryway into a larger one. The word is formed of the Latin ante camera, meaning "room before"....
and the Ladies room) into the Operations Room and the Filter Room - moved from its original location in the Crypt bar; the classrooms in the east Wing were converted into accommodation. Externally, brown and green paint were sprayed over the outside of the building including the clock face, and many of the windows were blacked out.
Dug-outs were built and sandbags deployed to protect the more important officers. In 1939, the magnificent conservatory was pulled down and replaced by the Operations staff wooden offices. The scene was now set for the wartime era, which is in a national context considered to be the most interesting and significant part of the Priory's history, and that of the RAF.
In January 1939, work started on the underground Operations Block which was occupied and commenced operations on 9 March 1940. The average depth of the excavations was 42 feet (12.8 m). The Priory itself suffered very little damage from enemy action during the war: two small bombs destroyed a wooden hut near the married quarters, blast from a flying bomb broke a few windows, and the windows in the Officers' Mess were shattered by the blast of a V2 rocket.
Ironically, it was an aircraft of Bomber Command that came closest to destroying the Priory. A Wellington bomber of No 311 (Czech) Sqn returning to its base attempted to land on the lawns in front of the Priory. It narrowly missed the Priory and crashed outside the Sergeants' Mess; there was one survivor.
A Plotters School is also said to have existed in one of the local houses and the trainee plotters are believed to have used bicycles and megaphones as teaching aids.
Anti-Aircraft Command
On 1 April 1939, HQ Anti-Aircraft Command (AAC) was formed under
General AlanbrookeField Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944...
, but on 28 July 1939, he was suddenly moved to command the British Forces and General Sir Frederick Pike took over. Anti-Aircraft Command then moved to 'Glenthorn', and the Gordon crest was adopted as the badge of Anti-Aircraft Command. This crest, the 'flexed bow and arrow', can still be seen on a silver bowl, presented to the mess when AAC closed, and is displayed in the Dowding Room.
Airstrip
With the requirement for frequent high-level meetings the need for an airstrip at Bentley Priory grew. Air Commodore 'Batch' Atcherley undertook this project and dismayed, but probably not surprised, by Air Ministry War Department advice that it would take six months to construct 2 x 300 yards (274.3 m) strips, he approached the Americans. The cinder T-strips were laid approximately east-West just south of the bunker with the leg of the T pointing south. It took the Americans just four days to lay the strips. A Bellman hangar was erected adjacent to the present Mess building.
Flight Sergeant Geoff Elphick RAuxAF, a Battle of Britain pilot with 32 Sqn at Biggin Hill, flew out of the Priory from April 1944. During a recent visit he clearly recalled the day that he unceremoniously pulled Air Commodore 'Batch' Atcherley out of an Auster which 'Batch' had rolled onto its back while landing. He also recalled quietly cutting down some birch trees which were making the landings a little too exciting. Bomber Harris also made some exciting landings and was apparently always complaining about 'those confounded balloons' which were not far away from the strip.
Dowding at Bentley Priory
Dowding, by then a widower, lived a very quiet domestic life with his sister Hilda at a house called Montrose (no longer standing) in Stanmore. He rarely went out socially and with an immense work load was happy to forgo all but duty functions. Every morning he would walk through the grounds to his office in the Priory. General Pile would walk from 'Glenthorn' and they would talk about the War, and a variety of other subjects, as they were firm friends. Visits to other stations in Fighter Command were made by his Staff Officers as he was much occupied with the work in his office. He did, however, pay regular night-time visits to research establishments and the night defences around London when night raids started in earnest in September 1940. These visits often followed periods of up to 48 hours at his desk and so, needless to say, Dowding became a very tired man.
Much has been written on the subject of the Battle of Britain and the small library in the Dowding Room contains some of the many books printed on the subject. However, there are three points worthy of special mention here:
The first concerns the part played by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding in creating the Operations and Filter Rooms, the essential elements of the Command, Control and Communications system which became the cornerstone of the Air Defence System. The system he developed allowed the controllers the best chance to ensure that they could always respond to incoming raids by scrambling squadrons to intercept them before they reached their targets. This rapid, flexible reaction was essential as there were insufficient aircraft and crews to mount standing patrols.
The second point concerns the part he played in encouraging research into night-fighter equipment and tactics. In his book,
Dowding and the Battle of Britain, Robert Wright who served Sir Hugh, records.
The final point reveals more of the nature of the man who, when faced with threats of retirement and constant rebuttal, still gave his all for those under him, and for the Service. Dowding himself recorded the following in a letter to the Air Ministry in early March 1940, when once again threatened with retirement:
"Apart from the question of discourtesy, which I do not wish to stress, I must point out the lack of consideration involved in delaying a proposal to this nature until ten days before the date of retirement. I have had four retiring dates given to me and now you are proposing a fifth. Before the War, as I told S of S, I should have been glad to retire: now I am anxious to stay, because I feel that there is no one else who will fight as I do when proposals are made which would reduce the Defence Forces of the Country below extreme danger point."
Bentley Priory continued to act as the Headquarters of Fighter Command throughout the war and assumed additional importance as the planning headquarters for D-Day, although much of the detailed work was carried out at Kestrel Grove just a few hundred yards away (this building still stands and is now a retirement home).
Operations and alterations
On
D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, the landings were monitored by
King George VIGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
,
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and U.S. General
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
in the
Allied Expeditionary Air ForceThe Allied Expeditionary Air Force was a component of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force which controlled the tactical air power of the Allied forces during Operation Overlord.Its effectiveness was less than optimal on two counts...
War Room in the underground bunker. The German artillery binoculars on display in the Dowding room were brought back on the
C-in-C'sA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
orders, having been captured from positions overlooking the beaches in France.
After the war, the Priory gradually returned to something of its former self. However, on the night of 10 March 1947, the centre portion of the building, including the room above the Ante-Room and the offices on the floor above, were destroyed by a fire. Two years later, a new bar was built in the sub-basement under the Ante-Room. HRH Princess Elizabeth first visited the Priory in 1950.
At some stage the wooden accommodation block was replaced with the three-storey building immediately to the west of the Mess and in 1953 a Conference Room was constructed on the second floor. Further restoration of the exterior of the building followed in 1954, together with the extension and modernisation of the Officers' Mess kitchen and servery.
In 1955, the dining room was enlarged and rebuilt with a new roof. All this renovation was complete by 1958 when the Queen and other members of the Royal Family attended the RAF 40th Anniversary celebrations which were held at Bentley Priory.
Despite the considerable work undertaken, it became apparent that deterioration was still taking place. In 1964, a surveyor's report showed that the Ante-Room rebuilt in 1947 was suffering from dry-rot. However, it was not until ten years later that the full extent of the decay was thoroughly investigated.
In 1966, the clock face received an extensive overhaul. Made by John Moore in 1864, the clock was one of the last to be made before the gravity escapement principle was introduced. It was wound weekly and had a 17 feet (5.2 m) pendulum with a second beat. The clock was lost in the fire of 1979 but the original bells survived.
On 30 April 1968, Fighter Command was amalgamated with other operational commands to form Strike Command. The Fighter Command badge remains above the main entrance Headquarters No 11 (Fighter) Group. The Officers' Mess remained in the Priory building and much of the Mess silver still proudly bears the Fighter Command Badge.
Bentley Priory also became the Administrative Headquarters for
RAF Strike CommandThe Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
(although this function moved to High Wycombe in 1972). It was also proposed that the Officer and Aircrew selection at RAF Biggin Hill should move to the Priory and Stanmore itself closed. All these plans required a large Officers' Mess and in 1974 the Department of the Environment ordered a thorough investigation into the priory building. Their findings were extremely disturbing; the spread of dry-rot in the timbers meant that the only safe parts of the Mess were the kitchens and dining room, and these would only last until March 1975 when they too would have to be closed. From this period dates the large underground nuclear hardened bunker to the East of the Mansion, built in 1982 which replaced the previous World War II bunker on the site, which had been continually upgraded from 1940 up to the 1980s.
The decision that the Mess would have to close came at a particularly bad time as, some four months earlier, the Royal Air Force Association had been given permission to hold a Fighter Command Commemorative Ball at the Priory and invitations had already been sent out. Given the serious concern about the integrity of the building's structure it was decided to use marquees for the majority of the function; the lower floors were temporarily strengthened. The ball was of course, a resounding success and caused HM the Queen Mother, who has a long association with the Mess, to be particularly interested in the Priory's future. It was from that night that the campaign to save the Priory really began and it was eventually decided that the Priory should be renovated at a cost of approximately £1 million. Most of the paintings and other valuables were taken to
RAF QuedgeleyRAF Quedgeley was a Royal Air Force station near Quedgeley, Gloucestershire.The site was first occupied in 1914. It closed as an independent RAF unit on 13 February 1995....
for safe storage, and
CubittsHolland, Hannen & Cubitts was a major building firm responsible for many of the great buildings of London.-History:It was formed from the fusion of two well-established building houses that had competed throughout the later decades of the nineteenth century but came together in 1883: this was...
, sub-contractors of the Department of the Environment, started work.
A disastrous fire
On the evening of 21 June 1979 at 8:27 pm, smoke was seen coming from the Priory. The London Fire Brigade fortunately arrived in good time and tried to fight the fire. Several teams went inside and tried to get the fire under control. Unfortunately, the electricity had not been switched off and as the firemen advanced to the seat of the fire, they were surrounded by great sparks and had to beat a hasty retreat. The firemen spent the next morning damping down the smouldering remains and looking for the cause. It was quickly established that the fire was an accident and not arson.
The fire devastated most of the main staircase, but luckily jumped over the Adelaide Room, by-passing the Rotunda, but destroying the rooms down the other side, including the Dowding Room. Initially, this fire was thought to be the final tragedy. However, after legal ramifications were resolved,
CubittsHolland, Hannen & Cubitts was a major building firm responsible for many of the great buildings of London.-History:It was formed from the fusion of two well-established building houses that had competed throughout the later decades of the nineteenth century but came together in 1883: this was...
's insurance covered most of the cost of rebuilding and renovations went ahead at a cost of approximately £3.1 million.
Despite two fires and substantial Victorian rebuilding of the house, externally, Soane's part in the design is still evident on the garden side and in the house. The five pilasters (columns) set against the original Duberley house still survive, though they have lost most of their entablature (the ornate area above the column) and carry instead a steeply projecting slate roof.
Although several of the rooms were built during the 18th century, alterations to most of them have led to the loss of their original character. Only the entrance hall remains virtually intact with its eight 'Roman Doric' columns supporting a shallow vaulted ceiling. The 1979 fire peeled off the whitewash paint cover of the ceiling revealing the intricate painted pattern (as designed by Sloane). Although the finances did not allow this pattern to be restored at the time, it has since been returned to its former glory by Mess members.
The Officers' Mess today
The former Bentley Priory Officers'
MessA mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
still contains the original office of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding (later Lord Dowding), Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, preserved with its original furniture. Other
Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
historic artifacts are kept in the Officers' Mess, including one of the few remaining Battle of Britain Lace Panels. There a number of "trophies" taken by the Royal Air Force from the
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
at the end of World War II in the mess, including an eagle statue and a bust of Goering.
The Officers' Mess was also notable for the number of Royal Portraits hanging in the building; there were two of HM The Queen, one in the Dining Room as a young woman and a second that that hung in the Ladies' Room that was commissioned and paid for by the Royal Observer Corps to mark their 50th Jubilee Year, painted at Bentley Priory depicting Her Majesty in her ROC Commandant in Chief regalia and with a background of the Italian Gardens. There was also a portrait of His Royal Highness the
Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
(dressed in a flying suit, hanging in the Dining Room on the wall facing the Queen), one of
George VIGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
(in RAF No 1 uniform wearing a 'chip bag' and wings, which hangs in the
AbercornAbercorn is a village and parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry.-History:...
Bar) and one of
The Queen MotherElizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
(gifted to the Mess by the Queen Mother after she paid for refurbishment following the fire). The portrait of The Queen Mother hung in the rotunda and was surrounded by portraits and sketches of many Battle of Britain Pilots.
The final days of RAF occupation
RAF Bentley Priory was latterly home to the
Defence Aviation Safety CentreThe Defence Aviation Safety Centre is located at RAF Bentley Priory. It is responsible for Policy relating to Avaiation Safety, as well as delivering various Flight Safety Courses. The DASC is due to move to RAF Northolt on May 8 following the closure of RAF Bentley Priory....
,
Air Historical BranchThe Air Historical Branch is the historical archive and records service of the Royal Air Force.First established in 1919, the AHB was responsible for creating the Official History of British Air Operations in the First World War....
(AHB) and RAF Ceremonial. As there was no enduring operational use for RAF Bentley Priory, however, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) released the site as part of its Greater London estate consolidation project,
Project MoDELProject MoDEL is a project run for the Ministry of Defence by the ministry's Defence Infrastructure Organisation and VSM Estates, a joint venture established between Vinci PLC and St. Modwen Properties to bid for the contract...
(Ministry of Defence Estates London). This despite the fact there was a significant lack of military accommodation in the London Area.
Project MoDEL is making a major contribution to the consolidation of the Defence Estate in Greater London through the delivery of three key outputs: the development of an integrated ‘core site’ at
RAF NortholtRAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...
; the re-location of the London-based units; and the disposal of surplus sites. Accordingly DASC, AHB and RAF Ceremonial relocated to RAF Northolt in 2008 following the completion of their new accommodation. A total of £180 million GBP ($295 million US in 2008) of the £300 million GBP released from Project MoDEL has been re-invested back into RAF Northolt.
A final dinner was held for the Battle of Britain veterans in July 2007 to celebrate
the role of the building and those who worked in it in preventing Hitler's planned air invasion of Britain in 1940. The sunset ceremony was carried out by the
Queen's Colour SquadronThe Queen's Colour Squadron is the unit of the Royal Air Force charged with the safe-keeping of the Queen's Colour for the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. Since its formation, it has been manned exclusively by officers and men of the RAF Regiment...
and there was a flypast by the
Battle of Britain Memorial FlightThe Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane...
and a
Eurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
. The salute was taken by the Station Commander Squadron Leader Phil Reid, the
Chief of the Air StaffThe Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton...
Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn TorpyAir Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Lester Torpy, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a fast jet pilot in the late 1970s and 1980s, a senior officer in the early 1990s and a senior commander in the late 1990s and 2000s...
and
Air Commodore (Ret) Pete BrothersAir Commodore Peter Malam 'Pete' Brothers, CBE, DSO, DFC & Bar was a famed World War II Royal Air Force fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain...
, Chairman of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association.
The final closure
SunsetA bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a...
ceremony took place on 30 May 2008, when the RAF ensign was lowered at RAF Bentley Priory for the last time.
On 31 May 2008, the station officially closed, and all lodger units stationed at the site moved to
RAF NortholtRAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...
.
Redevelopment
Following the closure of the RAF station the site was handed over to
Defence EstatesDefence Infrastructure Organisation is an operating arm of the Ministry of Defence , in the United Kingdom, which is responsible for the built and rural estate. The organisation formed on 1 April 2011 after a reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence's bodies in charge of infrastructure. It...
, who in turn passed it to the prime plus contractor for
Project MoDELProject MoDEL is a project run for the Ministry of Defence by the ministry's Defence Infrastructure Organisation and VSM Estates, a joint venture established between Vinci PLC and St. Modwen Properties to bid for the contract...
, VSM Estates, a company formed by developers
Vinci-Places:Italy*Vinci, Tuscany, a comune in the Province of FlorenceSerbia*Vinci, Serbia, a community in Braničevo District-People:*Leonardo Vinci, an Italian composer*Roberta Vinci, an Italian tennis player...
and St Modwen who are responsible for developing proposals and the subsequent disposal of the site to developers who will realise the scheme.
Under Supplementary planning guidance agreed in 2007 by London Borough of Harrow the site will include a museum open to the public in the main rooms of the house, recording and interpreting the history of the site and in particular the Battle of Britain and Cold War heritage. The plans were put on hold in 2009 as a result of the economic climate in Britain, although in 2010 it was agreed that the museum would go ahead and be run by the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust, with support from the charity
The Prince's Regeneration TrustThe Prince’s Regeneration Trust is one of The Prince's Charities, a group of 19 charities of which HRH The Prince of Wales is President.The Prince's Regeneration Trust works throughout the United Kingdom to ensure that important historic buildings at risk of demolition or decay are preserved,...
. The latest plans for the site include the conversion of the grade II* listed mansion into luxury flats, above the proposed museum. The restoration and development for the site is being designed by Nigel Anderson of ADAM Architecture.
The Cold War bunker was surveyed by English Heritage, who concluded there were other examples of similar bunkers across the country in better condition. In March 2010 the bunker was filled in, leaving only the exterior doors and walls. The RAF Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust supported VSM Estates in the decision to fill in the bunker on the grounds of maintenance costs. The bunker had replaced the Second World War bunker in the 1980s.
External links