| Summary : A control tower at Wroughton Airfield located towards the eastern end of the east-west runway. It was built in 1940. Most control towers conformed to the Air Ministry Design 518/40 or 8936/40 (a variant design), whereas the example at Wroughton is of a non-standard type. It is a two storey structure of brick and concrete with a flat roof and a covered, external staircase. The windows have all been replaced with uPVC. Railings, which are normally on of the first elements to be removed, still enclose the roof space. The building was assessed for listing in 2010, but failed to meet the required criteria. |
More information : RAF Wroughton (No.15 MU) is one of twenty four Maintenance Units that were built by the Air Ministry during the Second World War. Its construction was planned before the war and the airfield opened in April 1940. In 1941, a second unit, MU No. 76, was set up at Wroughton to handle the packing of aircraft into crates for transport overseas. The airfield¿s principal role was aircraft maintenance and storage unit and more than 7,000 aircraft were modified, serviced or repaired there during the war. It was also involved in the assembly of aircraft to supply Battle of Britain units, and became the final assembly point, in the second half of 1943, for many naval planes and gliders used in the Allied invasion of Europe. After the War, Wroughton continued its maintenance function until it closed as a military airfield in 1978.
Wroughton airfield retains a number of military structures including Type B, C, D and L hangars, and ancillary buildings such as guardhouse, parachute packing shop and boiler house. The control tower is located towards the eastern end of the east-west runway. Most control towers conformed to the Air Ministry Design 518/40 or 8936/40 (a variant design), whereas the example at Wroughton is of a non-standard type. It is a two storey structure of brick and concrete with a flat roof and a covered, external staircase. The windows have all been replaced with uPVC. Railings, which are normally on of the first elements to be removed, still enclose the roof space.
English Heritage has carried out detailed research on military aviation sites in England and has produced recommendations for designation which represent what are considered to be the most significant survivals on airfield sites. Control towers (or watch offices) vary enormously in scale and design and, despite substantial losses, very large numbers survive. The survey of military airfield sites and structures has drawn our attention to a number of control towers that are considered to be of national significance but the example at Wroughton was not identified as a strong candidate. It is appreciated that many World War II airfield sites are of great significance, both to those service personnel who served at them, and to the memory of those who did not survive the conflict. The control tower at Wroughton is not a well-preserved example, having lost historic detailing such as its original windows which have been replaced with plastic. The applicant points out that the control tower is unique as it is considered to be the smallest example that was built during World War II, it is acknowledged that the control tower is unusual on typological grounds since it is of a non-standard design, but there is no proven or special reason for this that could assist in making a case for special interest. Furthermore the control tower has no specific historical associations that mark it apart from the hundreds of other station control towers in existence in 1945.
The Wroughton control tower clearly has great local significance but, for the reasons cited above, it does not have sufficient special interest in a national context to merit listing. (1) |