Heritage Walk to explore Alconbury Weald’s military past
- 20.01.2025
Meeting at 10am on Saturday, 10 February outside Swynford Stores
Following the success of last year’s Heritage Walk, residents and visitors are being invited to join the Airfield Research Group (ARG) for a guided tour around the residential area of Alconbury Weald. This will include the locations of some of the airfield’s historic buildings and explore the development’s fascinating military past.
The tour will cover the site’s historic control towers that were used to coordinate the safe departure and return of aircraft throughout the Second World War and Cold War era; iconic hangars used for vital maintenance and repairs; and the Hush House, a noise suppressing facility for testing and maintaining aircraft engines.
Representatives from ARG will also provide insights into the different roles of the British and American Air Forces based at the airfield and some of the aircraft operated from there, including the TR1 high altitude spy plane.
“Our heritage events are always well attended, and this guided walk is a great way to find out more about Alconbury Weald’s military history from the ARG team, who are passionate about this period of history and looking forward to sharing their knowledge and insights with the community.”
The extraordinary history of the site is being woven through the Alconbury Weald development, with heritage reflected through careful conservation, re-use and interpretation of the site’s listed buildings, as well as the preservation and archiving of artefacts, records and drawings related to other buildings and uses. Alconbury Weald also contains a number of features that reflect the historic uses and layout of the area including Garland Park, which follows the line of one of the historic taxiways.
The Heritage Area, coming forward as part of Phase 3, includes four listed reinforced hangars for the TR1 spy plane and the Avionics Building, which was built to maintain electronic sensors and equipment vital to its unique intelligence mission and designed to withstand chemical and biological attack; it is the only one of its kind in Europe. The Heritage Area will be part of a future park area with commemoration and interpretation of the work that went on there.
All welcome. No need to book. The tour is expected to last about an hour.
