First World War generator house, Stow Maries Aerodrome, Cold Norton (EHER 81762)

A brick-built, five-by-three-bay single storey generator house for diesel-powered generators. Immediately west of the building are two rendered concrete plinth bases for diesel-oil storage tanks which have since been removed. Lying close to the western perimeter of the airfield, the generator supplied electricity for telephones and increasingly wireless telegraphy.

1997. RCHME field survey. Early military airfields required electricity to operate telephones and, increasingly as the First World War progressed, wireless telegraphy, and this was usually generated on site by means of generators fired by diesel-oil. The generator house at Stow Maries stands close to the western perimeter of the airfield site, adjacent to a former entrance to the airfield from Strawberry Hill Lane. It is gabled north-south and consists of a tall single storey. The structure, as defined by external buttresses, consists of five by three bays and measures 15.03 x 10.47 metres externally on plan. The walls incorporate an asphalt damp-proof course and are covered externally with a smooth cement render. Each of the bays incorporates a window except that on the east wall the second bay from the north has a large doorway instead. The interior consists of a large engine room occupying the four southern bays and two small rooms occupying either side of the northern bay. The transverse division is formed by a full-height brick wall which is buttressed in the same manner as the gables. High up in this wall there is a ventilator incorporating diamond-set timber bars. The small rooms are of unequal sizes, the east room taking up about two-thirds of the north bay and the west room the remaining one-third. Neither has evidence for heating. The small west room overlooks the entrance to the airfield, but has no external doorway and does not appear to have served a gatehouse function. Either this room or the larger east room probably formed the battery room in which battery cells could be charged, but any internal fixtures have been removed. Immediately west of the building there are two rendered concrete plinths. These are likely to have formed the bases for diesel-oil storage tanks which have been removed. No fixings were observed. North of these a smaller, lower plinth abuts the west wall. <1> April 2012. Grade II* listed. Plan: Rectangular comprising a large engine room and two small rooms at the north end. Exterior: Lying close to the western perimeter of the airfield, the generator supplied electricity for telephones and increasingly wireless telegraphy. Aligned north-south, of a tall single storey, this five by three bay structure has external buttresses and rendered walls. There is an entrance door in the north elevation and windows to the other bays and louvered vents in the apex of each gable. Interior: A large engine room occupies the four southern bays; two small rooms occupy the northern bay, demarcated by a transverse brick wall, but neither have fixtures and fittings. The roof is carried by the transverse wall and three trusses constructed of plank-section timbers comprising a tie beam, king-post and lattice bracing. <2> The buildings are depicted on the 3rd edition OS map. <3>