London Gliding Club Hangar and Clubhouse is a Grade II listed building in the Central Bedfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 19 July 1995. Clubhouse and hangar.

London Gliding Club Hangar and Clubhouse

WRENN ID
western-floor-swift
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Central Bedfordshire
Constituency
Luton South and South Bedfordshire MP: Rachel Hopkins (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
19 July 1995
Type
Clubhouse and hangar
Address
London Gliding Club Hangar and Clubhouse, Icknield Way, Totternhoe
OS grid reference
TL 001 202
Coordinates
51.8715, -0.54726
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The London Gliding Club Hangar and Clubhouse is a gliding clubhouse and hangar designed by Christopher Nicholson in 1935, officially opened in July 1936. It showcases an International Modern Style, featuring a steel frame clad in brick and concrete. The hangar, located on the ground floor, measures approximately 90 feet by 90 feet and is designed to accommodate up to 25 gliders. Its roof, back, and side walls are covered with corrugated asbestos sheeting, and it has a 60-foot opening at the front.

The clubhouse, which is L-shaped with curved ends, is attached to the front of the hangar. The right-hand projection is a single-storey structure with a steel frame and concrete walls, featuring original continuous casement windows that house the bar, along with a tea terrace on the flat roof above. Behind this, there is a two-storey range, also steel-framed with a flat roof. The ground floor is made of brick and includes a large hangar opening to the right, while the first floor contains a lounge and restaurant made of concrete with a curved end to the left, continuous glazed windows, and a two-storey brick staircase wing. This wing has a temporary dormitory or locker room on the ground floor and cloakrooms on both floors. Additionally, there is a clock face on the left for the convenience of pilots leaving the hangar, and a projecting glazed screen on the right leading to the staircase.

The interior fittings, including light fittings, a glazed screen between the hall and bar, and bar joinery, have been preserved.

Local climate

London Gliding Club Hangar and Clubhouse sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 78% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 38 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 71% of listed buildings. Of these, 18 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. The Robertson War Memorial Bequest Obelisk, Robertson Corner Grade II 930 m
  2. Doolittle Mill Grade II* 1.1 km
  3. 36, Wellhead Road Grade II 1.2 km
  4. 28, Well Head Road Grade II 1.3 km
  5. Church Farmhouse Grade II 1.4 km
  6. Old Farm Public House Grade II 1.4 km
  7. Church of St Giles Grade I 1.4 km
  8. Lancotbury Grade II 1.6 km
  9. Orchard House Grade II 1.6 km
  10. Hill Grange Grade II 1.8 km