Watch Office (Building 72) at former RAF West Raynham

This former watch office, built in 1937-1938 as part of the Air Ministry's Works Department, was remodelled in 1943. It is located at the former RAF West Raynham, standing at the centre of a crescent of hangars aligned with the airfield.

The original 1937-1938 structure is of monolithic concrete, internally lined with pioneer blocks, while the 1943 addition is of cement-rendered brick, topped with a concrete slab roof. The building is square, aligned north-west to south-east. All windows are steel casements with horizontal glazing bars, creating multi-paned effects.

The ground floor, facing south-east across the site of the former runway, has four bays, each with a two-light casement window. A continuous sill band of terracotta tiles runs beneath projecting bands that extend around the building. Watch room windows wrap around the return elevations, with a single casement on the left-hand return (missing glazing bars to one window). This return also has a half-glazed wooden door with a three-light fanlight, sheltered by a shallow concrete hood, and a further single casement. The wall between the watch office window and the doorway shows where a staircase originally provided access to the roof control room. The right-hand return features two single casement windows, concrete sills, and a continuous concrete lintel. The rear elevation has a similar door to that on the left, leading to what were formerly airmen’s toilets, flanked by single casement windows on either side.

The control room on the roof occupies the rear of the building, with the front section serving as an observation gallery enclosed by a steel balustrade. The south-eastern elevation of the control room features a plain wooden door, a six-light casement window, and a two-light casement. The returns each have four-light casements, and the rear has two two-light casements. A steel cat ladder with a safety cage rises to the flat roof, which is enclosed by steel railings.

Internally, the front watch room is divided by a partition wall with a small hatch operated by a sliding wooden door from the east side room, and a shelf above the hatch. Most ground-floor rooms retain plain door surrounds, though the doors are now missing. The Duty Officer's rest room at the rear retains plain skirting boards and horizontal security bars to the windows. The first-floor control room retains original braced and ledged doors.