Rescue of old airfield buildings

Money is my guess!!

It could be done, ever seen megamovers, on that show they move some massive structures around.

Good question and good point. Just down the road from me there is whole museum/village called St Fagans, it consists entirely of houses and structures moved there from other loacations for preservation and display.
It would be great to see airfield structures presented in the same way, and I think a museum dediv=cated to airfields everything involved is needed. Maybe airfield developers (eco-towns etc) should be made to allow moving/saving structures in contracts.

My guessing is that alot of 'blast proof' wartime and cold war structures are just to difficult to dismantle and rebuild though?

Unfortunately PNK I think Stevo is right - money is probably the primary reason with a lack of willpower being a close runner up. Also, the physical fabric of many of the buildings has rendered them very fragile over the years so it in all likelihood, it is just not cost-effective.

Sections of wartime buildings have been recovered, especially those with wall art adorning them (there's a section at Thorpe Abbots in the museum). As to recovering a building, perhaps the simplest structures would be Nissens, followed by hangars, although these days the cost would be vast for the latter.

If it were possible though, would want to move, say a towers? As soon as you do, it's out of context and this will surely degrade its historical significance? Whilst quite a number of airfield buildings are listed and in situ, many of these are either Expansion Period or Cold War. As opposed to moving a building, perhaps it would be better to look at the conservation of representative wartime buildings in their 'natural environment' as very few (anyone supply a list of WW2 buildings which are listed? I know some are but can't remember off the top of my head!

Certainly a discussion worth picking up here. Cheers for starting it.

Chris

HI

Beamish open air museum is all reconstruced mining houses and pit villages and it does give a good feel of how it used to be.

I think in years to come (I'm talking 3, 4, 5 generations down the line) with the current rate of demolision of airfields it will be the only way to see a completed airfield, at some point in the future someone somewhere will realise there is hardly anything left and will start collecting whatever buildings are left around the country and put them all in one place as an open air museum.

I think given enough money and machinery anything can be moved, the Americans who do this sort of thing all the time have moved buildings as high as 5-6 story brick apartments, using massive I beams and dollies.

the problem with the human race today is we don't like to leave anything standing, in previous generations things where left standing, castles for example, but today it seems if it serve no useful purpose it's demolished. which doesnt look to bright for future generations

I'd forgotten about Beamish! That is a truly superb effort and it does give a very good feel for a small pit village etc at the turn of the 19th/early 20th C. (it even has one of the last Sheffield trams!).

Whilst this discussion is merely speculation, and very good at that, perhaps it would be better to look into the conservation of buildings in their original setting. It has been done - just look at the number of tower museums and attendant buildings. That said, East Kirkby has been expanded upon and the LARG occupy a couple of imported Nissens. However, a site such as Strubby would be excellent for a restoration project. Much of the technical site is intact, despite the go-kart track. There's no little/dumping, the buildings are good and so is access. Someone somewhere is missing a trick with that site. Although teh owners won;t let you into the buildings, the WAAF Site is pretty much intact as well.

I've no idea what might be done for dispersed site buildings though!

Stevo - I completely agree about the future generations argument and I'm sure everyone on here is heartbroken every time another building is torn down in the name of "progress". Let's face it, there seems to be very little regard in official circles to preserve a wider range of airfield structures, especially those representative of the War years themselves. It seems to be down to the dedication, devotion (and money) of individuals - the SSQ and "Red Feather Club" at Horham spring to mind here. I understand the frustration. After all, no-one would stand for a significant building of another period being pulled apart and if we're honest, that little spat between the Allies and Axis powers between '39 and '45 was somewhat significant, in all ways.

As for moving buildings? Personally, I don't know about that but it's certainly an interesting idea. Lobbying locally and generating a community of interest might be the way forward?

Just a few thought chaps.

Chris

The Tower at Thorpe Abbotts is listed, it is probably only a handful of buildings that are. I agree with the leaving of the buildings in-situ and restoring the area. When visiting these sites it's very moving to view and compare shots of the site from it's war period. I went to Thorpe and Hardwick today as part of my local classic car club i help run and saw the museum at Hardwick as it was in WW2. The difference is amazing , if i had the time there are quite a few sites i would like to save, i feel that there must be more pressure on landowners to save these buildings. What we need is a mind set which sees these buildings as historic and as important as your castles or stately homes.

Paul - unfortunately we don't have a beer icon!

I wasn't suggesting for a minute that moving a hangar isn't possible, just very, very expensive. There are the pair of WW1 aircraft sheds which were moved from RFC Doncaster and are now near Linholme (NJR can tell you exactly where). All I was hinting at was the potential expense of moving such a large building nowadays and is there the will to do it?

What exactly is the process involved with the tower move at Alconbury?

Jason - I think you hit the key words there - "mind set" (BTW, which classic car club do you belong to?).

My thoughts were only really that - thoughts and observations.

Chris