WW2 structures, in field to rear of 20 Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LQ is a Grade Record Only listed building in the Newry, Mourne and Down local planning authority area, Northern Ireland.

WW2 structures, in field to rear of 20 Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LQ

WRENN ID
sombre-tin-ash
Grade
Record Only
Local Planning Authority
Newry, Mourne and Down
Constituency
South Down MP: Chris Hazzard (SF)
Country
Northern Ireland
Address
WW2 structures, in field to rear of 20 Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LQ, BT34 4LQ
Irish grid reference
J 279 116
Coordinates
54.03778, -6.04714
Source
NI Environment Agency listing

Also on this page: radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Two small single-storey wartime structures of austerity construction, located in a field to the rear of 20 Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, near the original runways of what was Greencastle Aerodrome. These buildings represent the temporary, utilitarian approach to Second World War military construction, prioritising minimal materials and maximum practical function over architectural finish.

Building A (the smaller structure, positioned to the northeast) has a flat cast-in-situ concrete roof with a slight overhang and no rainwater goods. The walls are permanent, constructed in 200-millimetre red brick laid in English Garden Wall bond, with advanced piers to the left and right ends of the northeast and southwest walls, both of which are blank. The northwest wall contains a doorway set slightly to its left, fitted with a modern door and concrete lintel. The southeast wall has a small window opening and is abutted by a modern metal tank mounted on concrete block piers.

Building B (positioned to the southwest and aligned northwest-southeast) has a pitched corrugated asbestos cement roof with semicircular ridges and round asbestos cement stops, with no rainwater goods. The walls are permanent, 200-millimetre red brick laid in English garden bond. The northwest gable has a sliding sheet metal door on its left side. The southwest elevation is blank and abutted by two metal pipes, 10 centimetres in diameter, which rise from the ground, run up the wall, and turn into it near the roof. The southeast gable has a doorway without a door, fitted with a concrete lintel to the left side. The northeast elevation is blank.

These buildings appear on the 1946 Air Ministry map of Greencastle Aerodrome. Although their specific use is unknown, their construction type and proximity to the runways suggest they functioned as technical or plant structures. Greencastle Aerodrome was built beginning in spring 1942, with the main contractor being Carmichael of Edinburgh. RAF Kilkeel Station, as it was designated, was commissioned on 30 July 1942 and handed over to the United States Army Air Forces on 3 August 1943, becoming Station 237, one of twelve American airfields in Northern Ireland. The station's principal buildings were of utility construction and dispersed across the local area to minimise the risk of concentrated enemy bombing; its radar station was located at Maghereagh, to the northeast of Kilkeel. The aerodrome served as a satellite to Langford Lodge near Antrim, preparing aircraft for operational bases in East Anglia. It also functioned as a training school for American aircrews, housing a Combat Crew Replacement Centre from 20 December 1943 until its disbandment in autumn 1944. The base was returned to RAF control on 31 May 1945 and decommissioned shortly afterwards. The site remained in Air Ministry ownership until the early 1960s, when it was sold back to local owners.

Local climate

WW2 structures, in field to rear of 20 Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LQ sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,160 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 89% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 96% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 3 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 99% of listed buildings. Of these, 2 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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Nearby listed buildings

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  2. WW2 Administration site, Mourne Park House, Lurganconary Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LL Grade Record Only 450 m
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  5. Our Lady of Lourdes (RC) Church, Lurganconary Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 Grade Record Only 686 m
  6. WW II Watch office (control tower ), in field on west side of Slatemill Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4JW Grade Record Only 984 m
  7. Hill Farm, Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LJ Grade Record Only 1.0 km
  8. WW2 Structure, In field to south of 45 Lurganconary Road, Kilkeel, Newry, BT34 Grade Record Only 1.1 km
  9. Adj to 49 Cranfield Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4LJ Grade Record Only 1.1 km
  10. WW2 technical site, Greencastle Road / Slatemill Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4JW Grade Record Only 1.2 km