Information for record number MWA9584:
Ansty Airfield

Summary Ansty Airfield ; its extent and history based on an aerial photographs and on documentary evidence.
What Is It?  
Type: Airfield
Period: Modern (1914 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ansty
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 40 81
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Ansty airfield from a RAF aerial photo of 1949.
2 In 1935 Sir John Siddeley, head of the Armstrong Siddeley Company, set up a flying school at this site.
3 The airfield is shown on the aeronautical wartime OS map.
4 New WWII sites to the north of Combe Abbey. Possibly RAF Ansty. Including a concrete air raid shelter visible from road. It consists of an earthen mound eroded to expose concrete chamber and escape hatch. An area of buildings are shown on 1949 Aerial photographs. A cluster of 1940s buildings surive within the Rolls Royce Plant and visible from the road.
5 Aerodrome, owned and operated by Air Services Training Limited was recquisitioned by the RAF in 1940, operation as an RAF elementary flying training station until March 1944. Detailed information.
6 In the 1930's, when the airforce expansion scheme was established, additional training facilities were needed to coipe with the demand which is when Air Service Training Ltd. (A.S.T.) embarked upon aew airfield site in the midlands at Ansty ----. Includes plan and details.
7 airfield. The airfield opened in 1936 and was mainly used for Training Schools thattaught navigation and flying to new recruits using a varied range of aircraft including Tiger Moths and Avro Ansons. After training a large number of pupilsit closed in 1953. The first bombs of the war, dropped in the vicinity of Coventry, were 5 bombsdropped on RAF Ansty on 25th June 1940, there were no casualties. Rolls Royce now occupy the majority of the site as an engine overhaul and repair facility. Resident Flying Units No 9 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (1936 – 1939) withAnsons, Hawker Harts, Hawker Hinds, Tiger Moths & Cloud aircraft. It was renamed No 9 Elementary Flying Training School in Sept 1939 mainly usingTiger Moths. No 4 Civilian Air Navigation school with Ansons between 1938 & 1939 when it was renamed as No 4 Air Observer Navigation school using Blackburn Bothas as an additional aircraft type. This moved to another airfield in July 1940 After World War 2 the airfield hosted No 2 Basic Flying Training School RAF from March 1951 – March 1953
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP48SW
Author/originator: RAF
Date: 1949
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP48SW
   
Source No:
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Aviation in Warwickshire Between the Wars
Author/originator: Jenks, Alfred J.
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Premises, Sites etc. within 30 miles of Harrington Museum used for Military Purposes.
Author/originator: John Brace
Date: Before 2017.
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Warwickshire Airfields in the Second World War
Author/originator: Smith G
Date: 2004
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: WWII sites to the north of Coombe Abbey
Author/originator: Wilson, E
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: The evolution of Rolls-Royce-Armstrong Siddeley (Coventry) part two.
Author/originator:
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Aeronautical Map Midlands (S)
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey/RAF(War) edition
Date: 1932
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Sheet 8
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SCHOOL * An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument ENGINE * A machine, powered by steam, gas, electricity or other energy source, which produces energy of movement. Use for stationary industrial engines rather than transport use. back
monument AIR RAID SHELTER * A fortified structure used to protect civilians and military personnel from enemy bombing. back
monument AIRCRAFT * An aircraft, either whole or in part. Aircraft often survive as commemorative monuments, gate guardians or crash sites. back
monument AIRFIELD * An area or site used for the landing and take-off of aircraft, often including associated buildings, equipment and other installations. back
monument TRAINING SCHOOL * A school where specialist skills, relating to a particular subject, are taught. Use specific type where known. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record