Building 81 (Station Staff Offices)

Building 81, Station Staff Offices, was built in 1938 as part of the Air Ministry’s Directorate of Works and Buildings, under Drawing No 2878/37. It is constructed from Bath stone ashlar facing brick, with a profiled tile roof.

The building is a long, single-storey, hipped block incorporating a central lobby and a deep, central 'T' shaped projection to the rear, with a small later extension to the right.

The facade has a central panelled and part-glazed entrance, set back two steps and framed by rounded pilasters with a small canopy. Either side of the entrance are five two-light windows under a common lintel band, flanked by single lights, separated by downpipes with hopper heads. The rear elevation has a three-bay return, followed by the deep four-bay wing, featuring one or two-light casements and a door on each side. A two-bay addition is located to the southwest rear. A high, flush-coped parapet runs around the entire building. All windows are steel casements with horizontal bars.

The interior features panelled doors.

This office building, alongside others on the site, retains original windows and fittings, demonstrating the successful combination of practical function and aesthetic design that characterized the early expansion of the Royal Air Force after 1934. It served as part of a complete technical group established to the north of the main group on the base, providing repair and administrative facilities for the Aircraft Storage Unit.

Hullavington opened on June 6th 1937 as a Flying Training Station, and its architectural quality made it a key example of air bases developed under the post-1934 RAF expansion program. It was later selected in 1938 as one of a series of Aircraft Storage Units for the storage of vital reserves. Further details on the site can be found in descriptions of Buildings 59, 60 and 61, The Officers' Mess.