Mousehold Heath airfield

Are there any other memorials in Norwich that anyone knows of?

The War Memorial by City Hall (near the Market) which is surrounded by scaffolding

a plaque celebrating early aviation near Waterstone’s bookshop. (not far from Langley’s model shop in the Royal Arcade)

Up by the castle the Norfolk Reg museum with the Boer War memorial.

Jaguar parked outside City Hall (on the ring road)

Aviation Museum up near the airport (ex RAF Horsham St Faith)

The airport has a memorial garden (quite small)

The Norwich Library has the 2nd Air Division room with a few bits in.

If you want proper directions let me know

Mousehold heath airfield

Hi All
REF Don’t know if this information is useful to you, but here goes.
Starting on the left of sat view, you have Homebase, then retail park containing usual stores comet etc. which was Barnards wire factory, made all types chainlink and wire netting fencing, closed in 1980s I think (can see Bar on G-ordy’s pic) just behind retail park is factory which produces hush hush rader equipment. Next you have a factory producing tin cans, paint tins,biscuit tins etc. (white rectangle shapes on pic are trailers waiting to be loaded. next to that was Tom Smiths xmas cracker factory, Dont know what it is now. Most of these building are ex B & P aircraft works. I have been in most of those buildings so can say that there is no memorials or anything to say what they were. but you can see by the construction of the buildings that they were used for building aircraft.
Heartsease sec school in now where the airflield was.
Am sure if you go there, and ask to have a look inside the buildings you would be welcome. Been 10 yrs since I have been that way, but there used to be a cafe at the entrance to Avian way. might get some information there.
but not from the parrot they used to have it died years ago. It used to say to everyone that went in “Shut the B****dy Door” 🙂
Regards Richard.

A couple of photos I took today are here:

http://www.airfields.fotopic.net/c1400186_1.html

They show the Boulton Paul panel on one of the doors at City Hall in the centre of Norwich.

I’m hopefully going to get a chance to get up to Mousehold Heath this week so I’ll see whats there then.

Are there any other memorials in Norwich that anyone knows of?

Richard

According to “Boulton Paul Aircraft” by Alec Brew they used to build all sorts of prefabs pre-WW1 at Rose Lane in the center of Norwich. During WW1 B&P were invited to produce aircraft including FE2s and Camels so set up another factory at Heartsease and converted the Rose lane plant for aircraft production, they later opened a plant at Riverside when Rose Lane became too cramped. I think the Camel in Hendon is a B&P produced model. The RFC had a few units that passed through Heartsease and the place became civil areodrome post war. During WW2 it was used as a POW camp.

Mousehold Heath

I grew up on the Heartsease estate-1/2 mile/135′ from the windsock and can remember the old Boulton and Paul works,the buildings I remember were painted in camouflage-late50’s early 60’s.I also recall my parents telling me the works were bombed several times by lone bombers early in the war.There was also a B and P factory on Riverside road in Norwich.
I don’t think the muppets who will be shopping tomorrow will appreciate the ground they will be standing on it being 11 November.

G-ORDY

Thanks alot for the map / aerial photo, really useful.

It looks like the units in the industrial area were part of the airfield, any ideas what they would have been used for? Were they part of the Bolton Paul works?

Richard

Boulton Paul Mailplane

This photo was taken in 1933 at Mousehold and shows part of the Boulton Paul works and a hangar behind the one-and-only P.64 Mailplane.

I’m not certain how these buildings & hangar tie in with the airfield plan from 1937 but I suspect that the windsock on the end of the hangar is the one marked on the plan as “Wind Indicator” in the NW corner of the airfield. The larger buildings in the background were probably those on the opposite (Northern) side of the road – where the industrial estate stands today.

On re-reading the page from the publication under “Facilities for Aircraft” is says that “Major repairs can be executed at the works of Messrs. Boulton & Paul Ltd., 2 miles distant by road from the aerodrome.”

If you mean a bunker by a roundabout on the ringroad by the Coltishall turning it was the ROC HQ, up until a while ago there were some wooden huts close by which had been neglected since the end of the Cold War and were pulled down. I think the ATC still use some of the more perminent buildings.

You are correct. The ATC, in the form of 231 (Norwich) Sqn and HQ Norfolk and Suffolk Wing ATC use the last remaining buildings of the old RAF Old Catton, which was a signals establishment IIRC. Located next to the roundabout for the B1150 (North Walsham Road) at the top end of Constitution Hill.

If you mean a bunker by a roundabout on the ringroad by the Coltishall turning it was the ROC HQ, up until a while ago there were some wooden huts close by which had been neglected since the end of the Cold War and were pulled down. I think the ATC still use some of the more perminent buildings.

Thank you, I’ve looked at the spot on GE and can clearly see a tatty hut and temporary fencing, obviously nothing to do with the airfield.
I assume that following the Zeppelin attacks on the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts that fighters would have been based there to protect Norwich.

If you mean a bunker by a roundabout on the ringroad by the Coltishall turning it was the ROC HQ, up until a while ago there were some wooden huts close by which had been neglected since the end of the Cold War and were pulled down. I think the ATC still use some of the more perminent buildings.

The UK Air Pilot (1937 Edition)

These two shots may help in your quest.

The first is from the UK Air Pilot (1937) Edition but overlaid onto Google Earth (I’ve just figured out how to do that … neat or what 🙂 )

and the second is the same map on its own for clarity:

Off topic – the tidal surge is a non-event thus far. Rivers are a little higher, but not bad.

On topic – I need to go into Norwich later – I will have a look and see if I can see anything!

Bruce

During my past trips round the by-pass to visit the late lamented Coltishall, I’ve noticed what appears to be an underground bunker next to and to the west of the road in this area. I’ve tried Google Earth, but everything is obscured by trees at this point. I doubt whether such constructions were even thought of during the life of the airfield, but could it be related to something that was there initially. Any comments from our Norfolk contingent.
Incidentally, I’ve been glued to the news this morning watching the effects of the tidal surge, national news seem to have missed the point, it’s the Broadlands that seem to be getting it, hope Carrow Road is ok, don’t want to add to their woes do we.

thanks for the replies.

Is this the industrial site which incorporates some of the old B+P buildings?
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=52.6478&lon=1.328772&z=17.4&r=0&src=msl

Richard

The Heartsease estate was built on the aerodrome site (which was the old cavalry ground) As others have said part of the the old B&P works still exist on the industrial estate and if you go into town the brass reliefs on the door of city hall show a worker making an aeroengine – done in the same year B&P moved to the midlands!

My Grandfather learned to fly at Mousehold in the early ’30s, unfortunately all of the records were destroyed by a Luftwaffe raid during the war so the family don’t know the types he flew seeing as his logbooks went missing many years ago 🙁

Tom

Certainly some of the buildings down the side / behind the trading estate, towards the Royal Mail depot, have a distinctly airfield look about them.

According to this website: http://www.norfolk-airfields.co.uk/mouse.html

‘some of the old airfield buildings can be found on Salhouse Industrial estate’

Only one way to find out Richard, you know you are going to have to visit;)