Guy Gibson Hall (Former Station Headquarters)

1783/0/10006

MANBY, MANBY BUSINESS PARK, Guy Gibson Hall (former Station Headquarters)

GV II

Station headquarters. 1936-7. A Bulloch, architectural advisor to the Air Ministry's Directorate or Works and Buildings (drawing no. 190/36). Flemish bond brick, interlocking tile roof covering to parapetted hipped roofs, concrete structure with asphaltic finish to flat section.

PLAN: A main range in 2 storeys, with central entrance through a small lobby to large circulating hall, from which a central passageway is taken through on the main axis to a doorway at the rear. This range is flanked at either side by single-storey pavilions with hipped roofs, and across the rear flat-roofed link building a similar hipped unit, forming an asymmetrical 'H' in plan. The main open-well staircase is in the link building.

EXTERIOR: Small-paned timber sashes to all windows, with brick voussoir heads and concrete sills. Channelled rustication to door surrounds. The central 2-storey range is in 5 bays, with 15-pane sashes. A central pair of panelled doors to radial fanlight is set in responds with a moulded arch keystone, and is all original. To each side the pavilions, in the same plane as the 2-storey range, each have 4 bays of 15-pane sashes to front and rear; right end (N) has semi-circular with rusticated surround to panelled door with overlight. Tall 3-storey link block presents a 3-bay elevation to the S with 12-pane sashes flanking central bay with 8-pane sashes above panelled double doors with overlight set in rusticated semi-circular arched surround. The transverse rear range, like the pavilions with a high parapet, has returns to 2 bays each end and has a 7-bay W elevation with 15-pane sashes throughout. Original hopper-heads and downpipes remain to all elevations.

INTERIOR: plain, retains dog-leg stair and some original joinery.

HISTORY: This is a distinctive design of 1935 by the Air Ministry architect, A Bulloch. Detailing is restrained throughout, but massing, spacing and proportions are carefully considered, in the neo-Georgian style favoured at this period, and influenced by the impact of the Royal Fine Arts Commission, especially though the architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens. Manby ranks with Hullavington in Wiltshire - another Scheme A station - as the most complete and architecturally unified of the post-1934 stations of the so-called Expansion Period of the RAF. For further details see description for Tedder Hall (qv).