If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the first or second world war, please do not destroy them. Little gransden has two airfields, one of which was used in world war ii. Gransden lodge was an airfield built to class a standard during 194142. Gransden lodge airfields of britain conservation trust uk. They were then taken on a short tour of great and little gransden enroute to the gliding club, where they were introduced to chris sullivan, the author of the trials and tribulation book which traces the history of gransden lodge airfield and 405 squadrons association with it. One writer has made a cambridgeshire crash site the central aspect of an entire book. As most of the machinery survives, it could one day be returned to a functioning. Number 11 and 15 were once joined, then split only about 30 years ago as no was renovated soon to become no 15. As a fellow pilot i am getting very concerned by the number of people i hear complaining about the noise this does the cause of ga no good. Owner of the sun inn according to the 195556 little gransden rate book. When the book was removed, the mill at once began to work again. The village name translates as valley of a man named granta or grante.
Check map and driving directions from cambridge to great gransden helping you find the destination easier. The cambridge university gliding club moved to gransden lodge in october 1991, having shared duxford airfield with the imperial war museum duxford. Cambridge gliding club gliding experiences, courses and. Great gransden was also mentioned in the doomseday book of 1086. It already consisted of 33 households in 1086, with an annual rent of. To book, please call sue, thursday to sunday between the hours of 10am and.
It is 11 miles 18 km from cambridge, on the border with the district of huntingdonshire. Gransden, great, a village and a parish in huntingdonshire. The cambridge university gliding club now cambridge gliding centre moved to gransden lodge in october 1991, having previously shared duxford airfield with the imperial war museum duxford. The church dates back to the 16th century, although the tower dates from about 90. The shortest road distance between cambridge to great gransden is 32 mi. There is a newel staircase in the south west corner. There are 54 listed buildings in great gransden parish, including the remains of a churchyard. Gransden lodge opened in april 1942 as an operational bomber airfield with three concrete runways. We also had our history of great gransden and postcards books and other items on sale. The raf station closed in 1955 and it was also used for some motor. The stations main runway was maintained into the 1950s for emergency use.
By 1829 he had the lease of the vicar of great gransden s little gransden property, and in 1830 bought reppington manor in great gransden. Great gransden is a parish in cambridgeshire, in the huntingdonshire district. Great gransden is a village and civil parish in the huntingdonshire district of cambridgeshire, england. It is in four stages with pairs of louvred twolight bellopenings on each face.
Gransden lodge airfield history when gransden lodge first became operational in 1942, the two units that were initially assigned to the new station were both involved in topsecret work related to radar. The highest point, great chishill, is 480 feet above sea level while the lowest. Its older centre is made up of cottages grouped around the 16th century church, although its tower dates from. Recently, as i read the history of the wwii era on the webpage of the cambridge gliding centre, which operates out of the gransden lodge airfield, i was reminded of my great uncles funloving spirit. Gransden lodge opened in april 1942 as an operational raf bomber. It was spelled grantandene in 973 and grante sdene in the 1086 domesday book. Cambridge gliding centre offers a full range of flying experiences, from introductory flights to holiday courses and if you are looking for somewhere to glide, our airfield, fleet, facilities, people and 7 day summer operation together combine to make it a great club to join. Fillers farm, fullers hill, cambridgeshire, sg19 3bp. Great gransden in cambridgeshire england with its 1,319 habitants is located in united kingdom about 47 mi or 75 km north of london, the countrys capital town.
There is an aerobatic pilot who insists on ruining quiet weekends by continual practice near eynesbury. Gransden lodge was another cambridgeshire airfield modified to class. It was spelled grantandene in 973 and grantesdene in the 1086 domesday book. There were twot2hangars and a bl, along with 36 hardstandings. Great gransden, huntingdonshire genealogy heraldry and. In 2001, the population of the parish was 969 people. Gransden lodge airfield, cambridge, cambridgeshire. Little gransden airfield cambridge, cambridgeshire. Little gransden, cambridgeshire, united kingdom three day. About the county cambridgeshire aviation heritage trail. Little gransden conservation area south cambridgeshire. A major repair programme is well underway at great gransden windmill in cambridgeshire. Great gransden photos, maps, books, memories francis frith.
Books about great gransden area browse 36 photo books on great gransden and the surrounding area. Little gransden airfield, cambridge, cambridgeshire. We had a stand in which we put on an exhibition of items from the doreen blott memorial archive and a display of material about the windmill. Jan 29, 2020 recently, as i read the history of the wwii era on the webpage of the cambridge gliding centre, which operates out of the gransden lodge airfield, i was reminded of my great uncles funloving spirit. Great gransden was a settlement in domesday book, in the hundred of toseland and the county of huntingdonshire. This is an unofficial site containing some information about little and great gransden, two charming villages in the low hills to the west of cambridge. The gransdens society was present again this year at gransden show on september 29th. Gransden lodge opened in april 1942 as an operational raf bomber command station called raf gransden lodge with three concrete runways. This web site includes information about the parish council, the village facilities it manages, the date and agenda for the next meetings, the minutes of previous meetings and the policies under which it operates please see the links below, in the menu bar above, and in the sidebar on the left. It also gathers together a number of links of relevance to the gransdens and their residents.
The raf station closed in 1955 and it was also used for some motor races, including the first major postwar motor. Great and little gransden, cambridgeshire, in dickensian times addeddate 20200302 12. Gransden airfield shooting ground great gransden parish council. It is right by the border with neighbouring cambridgeshire. The following organisations are either based at, use andor have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield as at 30112016. Today the airfield is used by the cambridge gliding club.
The raf station closed in 1955 and it was also used for some motor races. It was spelt grantandene in 973 and grante s dene in the 1086 domesday book. Books and journals history of great gransden, 1892, 71 72 98 history of great gransden, 1892, 203 231 history of great gransden, 1892, 234 inventory of huntingdonshire, 1926, 120 page, w, the victoria history of the county of huntingdon, 1932, 299. In village as tenant according to 1940, 1944, 1952 and 195556 little gransden rate books. Beyond this airfield is gransden lodge can be seen in the aerial picture and this has been a. It was spelled grantandene in 973 and grante s dene in the 1086 domesday book. The villages name is derived from valley of a man named granta or grante. The following organisations are either based at, use andor have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield as at 01092011. Gransden lodge airfield is a former wartime airfield located 10.
The work will help to restore the windmill one of the oldest in the country to its former glory. Owner in main road according to the 1952 and 195556 little gransden rate books. Francis frith the uks leading publisher of local photographs since 1860. The village stands adjacent to cambridgeshire, 3 miles nne of gamlingay station on the l. Lived at the leys in 1944 according to the 1944 little gransden rate book and 3 the village. The two are separated by the lowlying ground where the gransden and home dole brooks meet, across which the church and the manorhouse of the abbey of ely, to which a third of the land of the ancient settlement was granted c. Picture by the author who was more intent on photographing the ga airfield little gransden seen in the foreground. Gransden management need to listen to their neighbours.
Please see my listing for watchford farm devon to see a picture of gadjj once it had been fully restored. Books and journals history of great gransden, 1892, 177 inventory of huntingdonshire, 1926, 122 page, w, the victoria history of the county of huntingdon, 1932, 296 legal this building is listed under the planning listed buildings and conservation areas act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest. Great gransden is a village and parish in the south of huntingdonshire. Great gransden, huntingdonshire genealogy genealogy. A guide to the history of british flying sites within the united kingdom home. Great gransden, huntingdonshire genealogy heraldry and history. It had a recorded population of 33 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in domesday. Little gransden is a civil parish and village in south cambridgeshire, england. Contentsshow history gransden lodge opened in april 1942 as an operational raf. High pressure will lie over the far south of the uk in the next few days, ensuring mostly settled and dry weather. Gamlingay parish council little gransden parish council.
Take this example given by john sweetman in his excellent book bomber crew. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to ww2 you may have at home. It already consisted of 33 households in 1086, with an annual rent. History little gransden airfield other items articles events links news surveys tips other users feedback ukga membership about ukga.
Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Posted in mosquito history tagged kb397, kb432, kb435, kb436, kb450, leuna, merseburg, mosquito, raf gransden lodge, raf graveley, raf woodbridge, royal air force, usaaf leave a comment the wartime diaries of a mosquito navigator part 3. This place is situated in cambridgeshire county, east anglia, england, united kingdom, its geographical coordinates are 52 11 0 north, 0 80 0 west and its original name with diacritics is great gransden. Little gransden airfields of britain conservation trust uk.
Gransden lodge opened in april 1942 as an operational raf bomber command. Its older centre is made up of cottages grouped around the 16th century church, although its tower dates from about 90. Despite the grim business of the war being waged, there was also a lighter side to life. At the end of 1945 the airfield was transferred to transport command but the last operational squadron was disbanded in february 1946. Little gransden airfield egmj little gransden airfield accepts genuine emergency and precautionary diversions without charge per caa cap 667 9. Jan 20, 2018 little gransden developed as an offshoot of the larger settlement of great gransden hunts. A typical wartime station, well dispersed and unusually set away from roads and amidst fields, it had the customary three runways,036of 2,000yards and two of 1,400yards. Gransden lodge opened as a satellite of tempsford early in 1942. The airfield site has now returned entirely to agricultural use. Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. Gransden lodge, after which the airfield was named, lay on the northern boundary of the airfield. Webb of audley house, great gransden, also bought the farm owned in 1814 by susanna rugeley of potton beds. The local timezone is named europe london with an utc offset of one hour.
Gransden hall is a grade ii listed building in great gransden, cambridgeshire, england. Great gransden was mentioned in 973 when its land was endowed to thorney abbey by aethelwold, bishop of winchester. Initially flying the halifax, the squadron soon converted onto the famous lancaster, and this. Photos, maps, personal memories and local books of great gransden. The sites long history has culminated in its latest incarnation as the iwm duxford museum. You can also find the flight distance or distance to fly from cambridge to great gransden. Digital copies of group photographs, scrapbooks, autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to ww2.
This was originally written in the late 19th century by the reverend a j edmonds, the then vicar of great gransden. The main reason for not getting closer to gransden lodge is that, quite rightly, the gliding fraternity take a dim view of light aircraft busting through their area of operations without permission, and we didnt know if they had a radio frequency in use. Church of st bartholomew, great gransden, cambridgeshire. See why it was listed, view it on a map, see visitor comments and photos and share your own comments and photos of this building. Gransden lodge airfield is located in cambridgeshire. Great gransden windmill on track to come off the heritage at risk register a major repair programme is well underway at great gransden windmill in cambridgeshire. Meetings are normally held on the third tuesday of each month in the reading room, great gransden, starting at 8. Great gransden windmill on track to come off the heritage. In 2001 the population was 262 people,including waresley and increasing to 296 at the 2011 census. Church of st bartholomew is a grade i listed building in great gransden, cambridgeshire, england.
These repairs were classed as urgent needing to be completed within 3 years and will cost in the region of. Raf gransden lodge in the second world war 19391945 the. Map, attractions and location details of great gransden certificated site. Cambridgeshire aviation heritage trail about the county.
Media in category raf gransden lodge the following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. Despite the grim business of the war being waged, there was also a lighter side to life at gransden lodge, with many sporting events, parties, concerts and film shows being. Some of the countys ww2 airfields were constructed before the war, eg. Get your 3day weather forecast for little gransden, cambridgeshire, united kingdom. Great gransden windmill on track to come off the heritage at. Great gransden gallery we think that the row of terraced labourers cottages 915 eltisley road theres no number, superstitious fact fans are about 200 years old. First used by the rfc in 1917, the airfield continued to be used as a fighter aircraft base throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Lancaster days in gransden lodge genealogy ensemble.
The vicarage, great gransden 1211047 historic england. In august 2002 i was given the job of collecting the tiger moth gadjj from great eversden and to deliver it, initially at least, to little gransden. Volume 1 of historical writing in england, antonia gransden, isbn 0415152372, 9780415152372. The society also organises special projects of local interest, an example of this being the republishing of the book history of great gransden.