Entrance Gates, Piers And Walls To South Of Officers Mess

The entrance gates, piers, and walls located to the south of the Officers' Mess at Hullavington Barracks were built between 1935 and 1936, designed by A Bulloch, an architectural advisor to the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings. Constructed from Bath stone ashlar on dry-stone walling, the gates feature cast and wrought iron elements.

The design includes a pair of vehicle gates and a single pedestrian gate, all set between stone piers and flanked by low walls that curve outward from the minor road. The gates are centrally positioned to serve as the main entrance to the Officers' Mess.

The elevation showcases decorative gates hung on plain square stone piers, which are topped with a thin coping and tall concave pyramidal cappings that hold wrought iron lamps. Each side of the entrance has a short section of dry-stone wall that sweeps forward in broad convex curves towards the roadside, with a flat weathered coping that rises at the junction with the piers.

Historically, this entrance serves as a distinguished feature for the officers' access to the base. Hullavington opened on June 6, 1937, as a Flying Training Station and is notable for its architectural quality, reflecting the improvements made in air base design following the RAF's expansion after 1934. Its location in western England, along with other training and maintenance bases, led to its selection in 1938 as one of the Aircraft Storage Units for storing essential reserves for the operational front line. For more information about the site, refer to Buildings 59, 60, and 61, which include The Officers' Mess.