RAF Bentley Priory

Royal Air Force Bentley Priory
Near Stanmore, Middlesex, England
Coordinates	51°37′35.94″N 0°20′3.24″W / 51.6266500°N 0.3342333°W / 51.6266500; -0.3342333Coordinates: 51°37′35.94″N 0°20′3.24″W / 51.6266500°N 0.3342333°W / 51.6266500; -0.3342333
Type	Disestablished Military Headquarters (Non Flying)
Site information
Owner	VSM Estates
Controlled by	Royal Air Force
Condition	Now planned for private ownership and conversion to luxury apartments, with the significant public rooms preserved as a permanent museum dedicated to the Battle of Britain
Site history
Built	1766 (Converted for RAF use in 1936)
In use	1936 - 2008
Battles/wars	Battle of Britain July - October 1940 Air Offensive, Europe 1942 - 1945 Cold War 1946 - 1991
Garrison information
Past commanders	Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding 25 November 1940 - Air Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas 28 November 1942 - Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory 15 November 1943 - Air Marshal Sir Roderic Hill 14 May 1945 - Air Marshal Sir James Robb 17 November 1947 - Air Marshal Sir William Elliot 19 April 1949 - Air Marshal Sir Basil Embry 7 April 1953 - Air Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle 1 January 1956 - Air Marshal Sir Hubert Patch 8 August 1956 - Air Marshal Sir Thomas Pike 30 July 1959 - Air Marshal Sir Hector McGregor 18 May 1962 - Air Marshal Sir Douglas Morris 3 March 1966 - Air Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier
Garrison	RAF Fighter Command HQ Royal Observer Corps No. 11/18 Group Strike Command RAF
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated	25 May 1983
Reference no.	1358638
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
Type	Grade II
Designated	9 December 1999
Reference no.	1001440

Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding

RAF Fighter Command
HQ Royal Observer Corps
No. 11/18 Group Strike Command RAF

RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow.

Originally built in 1766, Bentley Priory was significantly extended in 1788, by Sir John Soane, for John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn. The priory was the final home of the Dowager Queen Adelaide, queen consort of William IV, before her death there in 1849. It subsequently served as a hotel and girls' school before being acquired by the Royal Air Force in 1926.

It became famous as the headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and the Second World War. The RAF Bentley Priory site includes a Grade II* listed Officers' Mess and Italian Gardens. These, together with the park are designated a Registered Garden Grade II.

The Royal Air Force station role ceased on 30 May 2008, following the relocation of units to their new accommodation at RAF Northolt. The site will be used for private accommodation and the Officers' Mess has now become the Bentley Priory Museum, with exhibits focusing on the house's role during the Battle of Britain.

The land south of the house is the Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest maintained by Harrow Heritage Trust.

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Wikipedia