Stow Maries WWI Airfield

Twenty-four buildings on Stow Maries aerodrome are arranged on either side of a main, concrete-surfaced 'street' aligned north-south. The location of the main entrance to the base is unclear, but it was probably to the north. An additional entrance led from Strawberry Hill Lane to the west, its position marked by a line of original telegraph poles. At the centre of the site, the flying field lies to the east and the parade ground to the west.

The technical buildings, used for storage, maintenance and repair and essential for running the airfield, are concentrated at the north of the site. Two pairs of twin-shed hangars with 'M' profile roofs provided aircraft storage, but have since been demolished. The 'regimental' buildings—offices, accommodation and similar structures—lie to the south of the site.

The surviving buildings are simple, utilitarian, single-storey structures, probably of standard design and construction, strengthened at intervals by piers which carry the roof trusses. They have gable roofs covered with slate or corrugated asbestos sheeting, mostly supported with timber trusses, with some having metal tension-members. The buildings are numbered in accordance with the on-site nomenclature; the numbers given by the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments of England survey of 1997 are shown in brackets.

All buildings are constructed of red brick, with slate or corrugated asbestos coverings to the roofs.

Building 2: Workshops (Building 3)

This rectangular building of fourteen bays, divided into three rooms, was used for the repair and maintenance of aircraft and is linked to the Dope shop to the south. The workshops have been restored, the original fabric being encased and the metal windows refurbished. There are double doors to each room. The roof trusses have been refurbished, with some members replaced. Generally timber, each truss carries four ranks of timber purlins, the top pair forming the ridge, and has a substantial timber tie with angled struts.

Building 3: Dope Shop (Building 4)

This small three-bay rectangular structure, linked to the workshop, was probably used for the storage of dope, a compound based on nitrate cellulose applied to the canvas covering of aircraft wings and fuselages, tightening the fabric and rendering it splash-proof. It too has been restored by encasement. There is a door in the south elevation with a rebuilt chimney to its left. The interior was not inspected.

Building 4: Subterranean Ammunition Store (Building 7)

Located near the flying field on the east side of the track, this partially sunken structure is protected by an earth bund. Constructed of reinforced concrete and aligned east-west, it is divided into three rooms. The segmental roof has collapsed. Access may have been by a flight of concrete steps on the southern side, but it has also been postulated that a hatch in the roof and a ladder stair may have been used. The room partitions remain; the largest room to the west is lit by two small windows.

Building 5: Motor Transport Sheds (Building 9)

This building, used for housing vehicles and trailers, is open-fronted to the west and comprises twelve bays divided between the fourth and fifth bay to create two rooms. It was extended to the north shortly after the first phase was constructed. The exterior walls and interior cross wall are supported by buttresses. The roof has metal trusses, including queen struts and angled struts.

Building 6: Ambulance Shed and Mortuary (Building 10)

This rectangular building is aligned east-west. The slate-covered gable roof has a louvred ridge vent, below which in the north and south walls are long vents with iron grilles and concrete lintels, representing a simple ventilation system. The east and west walls originally had two pairs of double doors, one set of which has been removed and replaced with iron sheeting. The building was divided into two spaces: the rear formed the mortuary and the front room was used for garaging the ambulance.

Building 7: Office/Wireless Testing (Building 5)

This rectangular building comprises two rooms. The rendered structure has a later pebble-dash covering and corrugated asbestos sheeting to the roof. There is a brick stack in the east elevation, flanked by original metal casement windows with pivoting lights. There is a door in the south elevation, with a window to its right. The southern room, accessed through a plank door painted green, is said to have been used by Marconi for the development of ground to air radio, documented in pilots' logs. The roof truss has a king-post and four ranks of purlins.

Building 9: Blacksmiths (Building 8)

This small, rectangular building has an enclosed courtyard to the east. The enclosing wall has been rebuilt and has replacement double timber doors to the centre of the east wall. The roof has a full-length louvred ridge vent. The west elevation has a central stack and there are double doors in the east elevation. The roof has a timber king-post truss and diagonal boarding; the struts for the vent have been replaced. There is a working field forge with leather bellows, transportable for use in the field for running repairs, but the original static forge has been replaced.

Building 10: Royal Engineers Workshop (Building 6)

This eight-bay range has two three-bay outshots to the west enclosing a small yard. The main elevation has a central full-height double timber door hung on metal pintles, flanked by six timber casement windows. The outshots are covered with a slated catslide roof; double doors lead into the outshots on the north and south elevation and there is a pedestrian entrance on the south elevation of the main range. To the rear, the yard formerly had a double-gated entrance, which was accessed by an east-west access road. The main rear entrance is blocked with Fletton brick, with a later window inserted, but the stone steps to the door and lintel remain. The outshots have diagonal boarding.

The Royal Commission survey recorded two rooms in the main range: the north-eastern room secured and likely to have been the armoury, the southern room probably serving as an office. The roof is carried by king-post trusses with lattice braces, purlins and diagonal boarding.

Building 11: Generator Hut (Building 46)

Lying close to the western perimeter of the airfield, the generator supplied electricity for telephones and increasingly wireless telegraphy. This rectangular building comprises a large engine room and two small rooms at the north end. Aligned north-south, this tall single-storey, five by three bay structure has external buttresses and rendered walls. There is an entrance door in the north elevation and windows to the other bays, and louvred vents in the apex of each gable.

A large engine room occupies the four southern bays; two small rooms occupy the northern bay, demarcated by a transverse brick wall, but neither have fixtures and fittings. The roof is carried by the transverse wall and three trusses constructed of plank-section timbers comprising a tie beam, king-post and lattice bracing.

Building 13: Reception/Headquarters Building (Building 45)

The brick walls incorporate a slate damp course. This rectangular building has a six-by-three bay plan and formerly had a porch to the front (north), now removed. The Reception Station, itemised in the 1918 Royal Air Force Survey, seems also to have functioned as the squadron headquarters building and formed the principal building on the south side of the parade ground.

The north elevation has a late 20th-century central double door, flanked on either side by tall metal casement windows. There are further windows to the left. Each bay on the south elevation has a 16-light metal casement window. To the west is a buttressed chimney stack and the east has a central door.

The Royal Commission survey avers that this room had a central axial corridor terminating in a large, heated room at the west end. There is evidence for a high standard finish and wainscoting, suggesting that the commanding officer would have had an office here. Each bay has internal buttresses, denoting a number of rooms accessed from the corridor, with an opening in each for a tortoise stove, all of which have been removed. The heavily engineered roof comprises plank-section timbers comprising a tie beam, king-post and lattice bracing with ten pairs of cleated purlins and close-set boards.

Building 14: Women's Royal Air Force Accommodation (Buildings 28 and 29)

The surviving women's hostel buildings—two others have been demolished—comprise two rectangular buildings in line, located south of the headquarters building, some distance from the officers and men's accommodation. The complex was originally linked by sections of wall and a small, central yard.

Building 28 is a small, single-storey building with modesty windows, some blocked, and a small stack on the north elevation: it may have been an ablutions block. Building 29 has five bays and is aligned east-west with a gabled roof and was probably for accommodation. It has a large double door of later date in the west end and 16-light windows to most bays. Two stacks on the south elevation mark the position of stove provision internally, the apertures of which remain.

Part of the roof of Building 28 has collapsed. The lattice trusses to both are similar to that in the reception building and comprise king-posts and tie beams supporting six pairs of cleated purlins. The roof has diagonal boarding.

Building 15: Officers Quarters (Buildings 31-33)

This group of three parallel ranges with gable roofs, aligned north-south, is linked by ablutions blocks at the south end. The west and central blocks are six bays long, each with stacks on the west elevations marking the position of stoves, and both with doorways on the east elevations. The easternmost block has an external render and its entrance on the west elevation and stacks were on the east. Entrances at the south end lead into corridors to the ablutions blocks, which have partially collapsed. All of the ranges have 16-light metal casements.

The likely internal arrangement is a corridor from which rooms, each with a stove, are accessed. The Royal Commission survey records that the roof structures comprise king-post trusses with planked tie beams and four ranks of purlins.

Building 16: Non-Commissioned Officer Accommodation (Building 30)

This six-bay building is aligned north-south with a gable roof. It is a rendered building with stacks removed at the west, north and south elevations. There are 16-light windows and doors to the north and south, said to have been used for domestic purposes after the war. The interior was not inspected.

Building 17: Fuel Store (Building 18)

A rectangular enclosure with tall, cemented and buttressed brick walls, largely unroofed except the westernmost bay, with an entrance to the east. The interior was not inspected.

Building 18: Pilots Ready Rooms (Building 17)

This rectangular brick, three-room building has an open verandah supported on slender posts facing the flying field. Partially rendered and fully restored in the early 21st century, it has a gabled roof, refurbished windows and four doors on the east elevation. The original ceilings, doors, dado rails and two fireplaces remain. The roof has 'A' frame trusses resting on piers.

Building 19: Squadron Offices/Museum (Building 15)

The brick walls have been encased as part of the refurbishment. These single-storey offices, next to the airmen's mess on the west side of the 'street' opposite the parade ground, were restored in the 21st century for use as a museum.

The west elevation has a central door with a brass knob, flanked by six-light, replacement timber casement windows. There are timber casement windows to the south and east elevations and a central stack at the east. The north elevation is blind but has a door to the west and a stack to the east.

The internal layout remains and comprises wooden axial partitions dividing the southernmost rooms into two. There is a further small office at the south end. Each of the rooms was heated and there is a cast-iron fireplace in the northernmost room. Doors, electrical switch gear, some wainscoting and joinery remain.

Building 20: Water Tower and Reservoir (Building 22 and 23)

This structure has a square plan comprising a tank mounted on four brick piers, the lower parts of which are linked by brick walls to form a ground-floor room. The tank is formed from welded steel or iron panels and is supported on six I-section north-south steel joists resting on two larger east-west joists, which in turn are seated on reinforced concrete pads at the top of each pier.

The ground-floor room has walls laid to Flemish bond, recessed on both faces of the piers. There are metal casement windows to the north and south with segmental brick heads. In the west wall is an entrance with concrete lintels. The interior was not inspected. The reservoir cannot be observed at ground floor level.

Building 21: Other Ranks Mess Hall and Recreation Hut (Building 16)

This building has a 'J'-shaped plan formed from three principal ranges enclosing a small central yard. The north range, of seven bays aligned east-west, formed the dining hall. Internally buttressed, it has 16-light casement windows with upper pivotal lights and a simple king-post roof with raking shores and five pairs of purlins. The main entrance is at the west end.

The east end of the hall is adjoined by a four-bay range aligned north-south which housed the kitchens; it has the same roof structure and a louvred opening in the roof. Attached at the south end of the kitchens is a three-bay range heading westwards comprising stores, perhaps a sitting room and water closets. Further lean-tos to the west have additional water closets and storage facilities. A number of doors and much joinery remain. The furniture of one earth closet survives.

Building 22: Men's Accommodation Block (Building 35)

This six-bay rectangular building is aligned north and south with a gabled, slated roof. It is one of eight original men's blocks; the others, which were probably timber, no longer remain. The building has collapsed at its southern end. Each bay that remains has 16-light metal casement windows. The interior was not inspected.

Building 23: Officers Mess (Building 34)

Constructed of rendered brick, this broadly 'E'-shaped complex comprises three parallel ranges aligned east-west, joined at the east by one cross range aligned north-south. All of the ranges have gabled roofs and timber casement windows.

The principal entrance was off-centre at the south elevation of the southern range, the largest and tallest of the three; unfortunately three large tractor openings have been inserted into the south elevation and the windows removed, but the interior arrangement remains. The west elevation has a central stack and two windows and there is a door at the centre of the second range to the north. The northernmost range housed the kitchens and is smaller. The east elevation of the cross range has a door to the north and two windows to the left of it which probably represent the commanding officer's private entrance into the mess from the flying field.

Despite the alterations to the south elevation, much of the internal arrangement remains. The southern range had three rooms, all heated; the west quiet room has a brick fireplace, dado and picture rails. The central games room had a bar, and retains its fireplace, and the dining room was to the east. All the original doors are in situ or have been kept.

To the rear, in the second range, a corridor links the ablutions block which has in situ plumbing for four baths and a second external entrance leading to a wash room at the west end. At the east end of this range is the mess orderly's office with a counter served by a sash window opening and original shelving. Beyond, in the cross range, are store rooms and the commanding officer's quarters and squadron silver rooms.

The northernmost range housed the kitchen, where the position of the cooking range is apparent; the pantry lies to the east and store rooms with shelving to the west. An external door at the west leads to a yard area, where the boiler room, water closets and a bike shed are located, and provides easy access from the officers quarters on the west side of the track.