Description

CATTERICK

1871/0/10002 MARNE BARRACKS (FORMER RAF CATTERICK)
01-DEC-05 Building 54 ( Watch Office with Tower)

GV II
Airfield watch tower and office. 1935, to 1934 type design. By the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings, to drawing number 1959/34. Brickwork facing to reinforced concrete frame and flat roofs with asphalt finish.

PLAN: A square structure to flat roof with smaller central tower, also square rising two further storeys. The ground floor has the main watch office and rest room, with latrines, from which a tight spiral stair rises to the observation room in the tower; both levels with flat roof decks, the lower with raised brick parapet, and the upper with parapet and safety railing.

EXTERIOR: Steel casements. Glazed (later C20 replacement glazing here) across full width of lower floor, returned one light at ends, and smaller lights to other fronts, and door with overlight to rear (N) and W sides. The upper level glazed all round. Small plinth, continuous frieze bands with projecting toe at roof levels.

INTERIOR: Iron stairs to top floor. Original doors and joinery.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Building 53, to rear (N), is a single storey structure, similar in style with flat roof, frieze band, steel casements to side walls and half-glazed double doors to W end.

HISTORY: This airfield observation tower (called a watch office, and better known as a control tower) comprises a well-preserved example of the new generation of towers that appeared in 1934, and that related to profound changes in the management and design of military airfields; a total of 41 were built, and after 1936 most were reinforced concrete. The grouping with the earlier watch office, which represents a distinct earlier phase in the development of military airfields, is unique for any British airfield. The development of radio communication, and the increasing need to organise the flying field into different zones for take-off, landing and taxiing, brought with it an acceptance that movement on the airfield needed to be controlled from a single centre: control towers thus evolved from the simple duty pilot's watch office to the tower design of 1934 and integration of traffic control and weather monitoring in the Art Deco horizontality of the Watch Office with Meteorological Section of 1939.

For further notes on Catterick, see description for Building 31 (Officers' Mess and Quarters)

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671374

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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