Lullingstone Airfield

Lullingstone Airfield
The remains of Lullingstone station, with the site of the proposed airfield behind.
IATA: N/A ICAO: N/A
Summary
Serves	London
Location	Lullingstone, Kent
Elevation AMSL	367 ft / 112 m
Coordinates	51°22′6″N 0°11′24″E / 51.36833°N 0.19000°E / 51.36833; 0.19000
Map
Lullingstone Airfield

Lullingstone airfield was a proposed airfield in Kent, United Kingdom that was not constructed. Lullingstone railway station was constructed to serve the airport, but never opened to public services.

In the late 1930s, it was reported that Imperial Airways was looking for an alternative to Croydon Airport. They were considering a site at Lullingstone, Kent, on which a new airport would be constructed. One of the problems affecting operators based at Croydon was a lack of hotel accommodation. The Southern Railway had an option to purchase the land and build the airport.Imperial Airways were to use it for their European services. However, Flight reported as early as March 1937 that Imperial Airways were not looking to move from Croydon, despite its problems with fog. The land on which the airfield was to have been built was owned by the Kemp Town Brewing Company, of Brighton, East Sussex. The airfield was to occupy 800 acres (320 ha).

The airfield was to have had four runways. A station on the Maidstone Line was partly built. It was situated between Lullingstone Tunnel and Eynsford Viaduct. It was planned to build a short double track branch line from Lullingstone station to the airfield. The station was planned to have had four platforms, two on the main line and two on the branch. The Southern Railway obtained approval from Parliament to construct the branch in February 1937. At that time, it was reported that the opening of the airport would be at least eighteen months away. Only the platforms and associated buildings on the main line part of the station were built. It was envisaged that trains from the station would run to London Victoria station. The station building itself was not constructed, but would have been similar to that built in 1938 at Bishopstone, East Sussex.