June 2018 Heritage Appraisal Defence Infrastructure Organisation RAF Halton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Heritage Appraisal Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 2 History and Development ...................................................................................................................................... 3 3 Heritage Assets ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 4 Opporuntities and Constraints ........................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix 1: Listed Building List Entry Descriptions................................................................................................... 18 Appendix 2: Registered Park and Garden List Entry Description .............................................................................. 36 Appendix 3: Scheduled Ancient Monument List Entry Description ........................................................................... 39 COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2018. All Rights Reserved 1 Heritage Appraisal 1 Introduction 1.1 RAF Halton, Site HAL003, is allocated in the Proposed Submission VALP for approximately 1,000 dwellings, recognising its sustainable location, the capacity of the site and its environment and surrounding landscapes to accommodate development sensitively, and its ability to consistently deliver housing through the plan period in tandem with infrastructure. This Heritage Appraisal has been prepared by JLL Heritage to inform the allocation as well as the concept masterplan. 1.2 As such, the allocation of the site has been informed by JLL Heritage’s appraisal of RAF Halton. The Local Plan is a strategic document allocating site which the Council considers have capacity to accommodate development with the detailed design (which in this case would address the key heritage considerations) forthcoming in any applications for planning permission and/or listed building consent. It is on this basis that the allocation of the site is fully in accordance with the statutory duty and NPPF and is therefore sound. 1.3 Site HAL003 comprises a number of grade II listed buildings as well as a scheduled ancient monument, the significance of which may be impacted as a result of the proposed redevelopment of the site. As such, there is a requirement to ensure that any heritage sensitivities are given consideration and used to inform the master- planning process. As part of this allocation, the local planning authority has identified that the grade II listed Groves and Henderson barracks could be converted into up to 200 dwellings subject to viability. An exercise considering conversion of these buildings has been carried out by PRP and should be read alongside this Heritage Appraisal. 1.4 A further assessment, which sets out the significance of the heritage assets located on the site, will be required1. This is needed to ensure that the significance of the assets identified, including any contribution made by their setting, are preserved or enhanced as part of the redevelopment of the site, a requirement of both national and local planning policy. 1 NPPF (2012) Paragraph 128 (p.30) COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2018. All Rights Reserved 2 Heritage Appraisal 2 History and Development 2.1 The earliest record of the Halton estate dates to the late C10, the estate and its manor were, at this time, in the possession of the monastery of Christchurch, Canterbury. Following the Norman invasion, the manor of Halton was granted to Archbishop Lanfranch, the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. The reference to Halton in the Doomsday book of 1086 shows that it was relatively wealthy, supporting seven plough teams, a watermill and numerous areas of woodland. 2.2 In 1720, following a period of multiple ownerships during the Middle Ages, the estate was purchased by Sir Francis Dashwood for £19,000. Dashwood owned a large number of surrounding estates, though his family seat was at West Wycombe Park. By the mid C18, the Halton estate comprised approximately 1,500 acres of farm land and a modest Palladian-style manor house which was situated near the church Halton village. 2.3 The Halton estate continued to pass through the Dashwood family and in 1815, when Sir John Dashwood-King bequeathed West Wycombe Park to his son George, Sir John relocated to the smaller estate of Halton, establishing himself in the main house. Upon the death of Sir John in 1849, his son inherited in excess of £10,000 of debt. As a result, the Halton estate was amongst a number of which were offered for sale in order to raise the necessary sums. 2.4 Baron Lionel de Rothschild purchased the Halton estate on behalf of the Rothschild family in the mid-1800s for £47,000. Prior to the purchase of the Halton estate, Lionel had already established a country residence at Gunnersbury Park and also kept a townhouse in London. As a result, the Halton estate and existing Palladian-style manor house were not inhabited by him or any of the family at this time. As a result, the house was left vacant, slowly decayed and was later demolished in 1879. Figure 2.1 – 1884 OS plan 2.5 In 1879, Alfred inherited the estate from his father, by which time it covered approximately 1,500 acres and boasted many tenant farmers and much agricultural land, though it lacked a residence of a suitable size and grandeur. During the 1880s, Alfred embarked upon an ambitious project to construct a grand mansion house at Halton in the style of a French Renaissance château, a style which was closely associated with the C19 nouveaux riches. The site chosen for the house was approximately half a mile from the village, on a hilltop which commanded views of the surrounding area. 2.6 Alfred remained a bachelor throughout his life and had few personal ties, he was also part of the third generation of English Rothschilds for whom work at the family bank was becoming increasingly less vital. Alfred had inherited a large fortune and was under much less pressure to adhere to social norms or familial COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2018. All Rights Reserved 3 Heritage Appraisal responsibilities. Consequently, Alfred was able to devote a significant amount of time and resources to his project. 2.7 The house was constructed at remarkable speed and was completed within three years (1880 – 1883), principally for the purposes of entertaining members of Victorian high society. During the same period, part of Halton village was rebuilt for estate workers, these buildings have retained the Rothschild hallmark with decorative drawings on the external plasterwork. 2.8 In 1913, Alfred Rothschild invited the 1st Brigade of Guards and support units to use land within his Halton Estate to undertake summer manoeuvres. Halton was established as an army camp by September 1913, with the tented accommodation being replaced by wooden hutting for 12,000 men in 1915. Sir Hugh Trenchard, Chief of Air Staff, viewed the establishment of a central training facility as a fundamental building block of an independent technology-based service. Ongoing plans to centralise technical training for the Royal Flying Corps lead to RFC personnel being transferred to take over the army camp at Halton during the summer of 1917. 2.9 Following the death of Alfred Rothschild in 1918, Lord Trenchard insisted that the Crown purchase the Halton estate in order to provide a permanent base for the expanding Royal Air Force (RAF). From 1918 until the early 1920s, General Sir Hugh Trenchard concentrated on developing the site’s strategic role as an offensive bomber force. His primary considerations were in laying the foundations of technology-based services through the training of officers at Cranwell and technicians at Halton. 2.10 The Grove and Henderson Barracks (formerly known as Bulback Barracks) were constructed immediately after the First World War and were specifically designed as a permanent base for the world’s first independent air force. As such, the buildings which comprise Grove and Henderson Barracks played a significant role in the early development of British military air power. 2.11 The expansion of RAF Halton continued when it became the home of the Aircraft Apprenticeship Scheme, in which high performing boys would receive three years of training as opposed to the five year duration of the usual civilian apprentices. The first group of apprentices arrived in 1922 and technical training continued until 1994 at which point the facility was transferred elsewhere. Figures 2.2 & 2.3 – Grove & Henderson Barracks (formerly Bulback Barracks), 1920s COPYRIGHT © JONES LANG LASALLE IP, INC. 2018. All Rights Reserved 4 Heritage Appraisal 3 Heritage Assets 3.1 A heritage asset is defined by the NPPF as: ‘A building , monument, site, place, area of landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in the planning decisions because of its heritage interest. Heritage asset includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing’2). Designated Heritage Asset 3.2 A Designated Heritage Asset is identified by the NPPF as: ‘A World Heritage Site, Scheduled Monument, Listed Building, Protected Wreck Site, Registered Park and Garden, Registered Battlefield or Conservation