Municipal Hangar at Brighton City Airport (Shoreham Airport)

This VR2 hangar at Shoreham Airport was erected in 1935 by the firm of Boulton & Paul of London and Norfolk. The building suffered bomb damage during the Second World War and was subsequently repaired, with some late 20th-century modifications. The structure is steel-framed with brick and concrete brick infill, clad in corrugated asbestos-cement sheeting with some glazing.

Exterior

The hangar is a twin-span structure with two ridges and two sets of main doors that open to the northwest. A continuous lean-to runs along both the east and west sides of the hangar; both appear to be original features, evident in 1930s photographs, though possibly rebuilt in part following wartime damage. The lean-to along the south side appears to be a later addition.

The roof is clad in asbestos-cement corrugated sheeting, with a line of glazing bars at the top and bottom of each ridge span, creating a total of six full and two half bays of glazing, as well as the two sloping end walls. The main doors are steel-framed, multiple-leaved sliding doors clad in corrugated steel, allowing almost the entire north side of the building to be accessed as originally designed.

The lean-to structures have roofs of asbestos sheet cladding, with metal-frame casement windows and doors. Those to the east and west are original, with steel angle frames connecting to the steel uprights of the main hangar, while that to the south is a later addition. The brick electricity sub-station in the southwest corner is later and not of special interest.

Interior

The walls have concrete brick or brick infill butting up to the original steel frame. The roof structure consists of bolted steel angle frame trusses with steel purlins. The floor is of reinforced concrete slabs.

Historical Context

Shoreham began use as an airfield in 1910. Notable pioneer aviators used the airfield, including Harold Piffar who flew his experimental Humming Bird biplane here in 1910. The airfield was properly established in 1911 as the Brighton (Shoreham) Aerodrome and was the venue for major flying events such as the Circuit of Europe and the Round Britain races. At this time wooden hangars were used. The aerodrome saw service in the First World War as a Royal Flying Corps training base, and it became the centre for Cecil Pashley's new flying club, which was well established by 1926.

In 1928 Sir Alan Cobham, a leading promoter of civil aviation, became involved in developing Shoreham as an airport. He was engaged by the local authorities to survey possible sites for airports and chose the original Shoreham field. The local council bought the airfield for development as a commercial airport and constructed the main terminal building between 1934 and 1936 to the plans of the architect R Stavers Tiltman, who specialised in airport design. The hangar was constructed in 1935. The airport was officially opened on 13 June 1936.

Britain's principal civil airport was established as London Air Port at the Croydon Aerodrome and completely rebuilt in 1927-28 with an impressive combined terminal and control tower and airport entrance lodge. The growth of Britain's civil air transport services in the following decade, however, meant that a series of local and regional airports were also needed. Britain's first municipal airport was opened at Wythenshawe, Manchester in May 1929, a year after the United States of America opened one in Newark, New Jersey. A flurry of airports were established in most of the United Kingdom's major towns within the next decade: Nottingham, Blackpool and Hull followed in 1930, and Bristol, Plymouth and Portsmouth gained airports by 1931. By the end of this decade, another 36 towns had established municipal airports, including Brighton, Hove and Worthing at Shoreham. The main airport for London was opened in 1936 at Gatwick Aerodrome, with its unique 'Beehive' control tower and passenger terminal forming the original focus. Also worth mentioning is Liverpool's civil airport at Speke, acclaimed as Britain's most architectural aviation enterprise in the period and also the largest when it was completed in 1939. Shoreham airport's terminal building and hangar represent a significant survival from this important period in the development of civil aviation.

Following the completion of the terminal building and hangar, scheduled flying services at Shoreham were increased. Shoreham continued to be a venue for air shows and was visited by many aviation celebrities including Amy Johnson (the first woman aviator to fly solo from England to Australia in 1930) and Charles Lindbergh (aviation promoter renowned for a solo Atlantic crossing in 1927).

Shoreham airport had a notable role during the Second World War, being especially heavily engaged during the Battle of Britain in 1940. In 1937 the Air Ministry decided that Shoreham should be used to train Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserves, and at the outbreak of war the airfield replaced Croydon as the country's main international civil airport. But by May 1940 this role ceased and Shoreham was used instead by 225 Squadron for anti-invasion patrols. During the Battle of Britain in 1940 it also served as an emergency landing ground for damaged aircraft and for a short time was home to the Fighter Interception Unit from Tangmere and to a special Hurricane flight (422), later to become 96 Fighter Squadron. Later in 1941 it was a base for 277 Air Sea Rescue Squadron. Operation Jubilee (the 1942 raid on Dieppe) was planned in the terminal building at Shoreham. In the preparation for the Normandy landings in 1944 the airfield was host to a newly formed French fighter squadron.

In 1941 the hangar was damaged by bombing; all the cladding was blown off while leaving the framework intact. Two blister hangars were erected inside the frame and the hangar continued in service. It was, however, repaired in 1950 and subsequently used by the light aircraft manufacturer F G Miles Ltd for their aviation component fabrication business. In 1962 F G Miles Ltd merged with Auster and became Beagle Aircraft Ltd, which used the hangar as a machine tool shop. Beagle Aircraft Ltd specialised in producing light aircraft and won a number of flying races. In 1970 Beagle Aircraft went out of production, and the following year the airfield was handed back to the local authority as a municipal airport.

The hangar is significant as a relatively uncommon VR2 hangar design with a distinctive double-span form and roof profile. Despite some rebuilding and modification following damage sustained in the Second World War, the essential structure and form of the mid-1930s hangar is original. The hangar has special group value for its relationship with the contemporary Modern Movement-style terminal building. These are the only two original buildings at the airport and their functional interdependence remains clear, as does the deferential yet confident way the massive hangar sits beside the terminal. Together they form part of an inter-war ensemble that bears witness to the phenomenal growth of civil aviation in this period.