Description

The 'Bellman' hangar at Inverness Airport is a Second World War aircraft hangar, built during the first half of the conflict (sometime between 1940 and 1943). It is located on the west side of the airfield, around 150m northwest of the main terminal building

The hangar is mainly constructed to a prefabricated design consisting of corrugated metal sheeting mounted over an internal steel frame, creating a large open interior space, and has a small lean-to attached to the eastern side constructed with concrete walls and a corrugated metal roof.

Historical development

The former RAF Dalcross (now the site of Inverness Airport) was originally opened east of Inverness in 1940, following the location being suggested as suitable by Captain E.E. Fresson before the war. RAF Dalcross was created to replace the earlier Longman aerodrome in Inverness, where expansion was hindered by the costs of additional land purchases.

The precise date of construction of the Bellman hangar is unclear; however, the hangar is present on RAF aerial photographs taken on 21 February 1943. Since its construction, it only appears to have undergone minor alterations, such as repairs to the corrugated metal sheeting, the removal of the extended door runners at both ends of the hangar, and the recladding of the north hangar doors.

Statement of Interest

Statement of Special Interest:

Bellman hangar (Hangar No. 1, former RAF Dalcross), Inverness Airport, Ardersier, meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

• The hangar is a good and relatively unaltered example of a Bellman type aircraft hangar.
• It retains its relationship to the wider airfield, now operating as Inverness Airport, and contributes to our understanding of its function and historical context
• Within the relatively small number ever built, it is a good surviving example of an increasingly rare building type.
• It is a tangible reminder of the extensive aviation history around the Moray Firth.
• It is a directly associated with one of the defining events of the 20^th century, the Second World War.

Architectural interest

Design

The Bellman hangar at Inverness airport was built to a standardised design, in common with many military structures at the time. It has a steel frame and corrugated metal sheeting which is extremely common on aircraft hangars before, during and after the Second World War.

The large rectangular plan form of the building is standard for an aircraft hangar throughout the history of the building type, as its function requires a large and uninterrupted internal space for aircraft storage and maintenance, and remains largely intact.

The design of the Bellman hangar was created in 1936 by N. S. Bellman, an engineer in H.M. Office of Works. The design focussed on simplicity, allowing the hangars to be erected without the need for specialist equipment or people, and they could also be erected extremely quickly as a result.

The use of wingnuts, instead of standard hexagonal nuts, to attach some of the corrugated metal panels to the frame on this example demonstrates the wartime need for adaptation of standardised designs based on locally available material at the time, as incoming supplies could be limited.

The Bellman hangar at Inverness airport has only undergone minor changes since its construction, partly due to its continued use as a hangar, leaving it as a good surviving example of the type.

Setting

The hangar retains its core setting as part of an operational airfield and airport complex, including other surviving Second World War era buildings such as the former turret trainer to the north and several smaller ancillary buildings to the west. Although there have been changes since the building's construction, including the removal of two large hangars to the east following the war, and the removal of a second Bellman hangar to the south in the early 21^st century, it still forms an identifiable part of the airfield, and the setting contributes to the understanding and significance of the building today.

The wider setting of the hangar and the airport, on the low-lying coastal plain along the southern shore of the Moray Firth, also contributes to its our understanding of its function and historical context. The land around the firth provided rare areas of relatively flat and open terrain, critical to the construction and use of any substantial airfield, within the more mountainous region of northern Scotland. As a result, the area around the southern Moray Firth became home to a strategically important cluster of airfields, including at Kinloss, Lossiemouth, Fearn, Tain, Evanton and Alness, in addition to Dalcross. Many of the Second World War remains around this network have been altered or removed, making this Bellman hangar an important, relatively unaltered surviving example.

Historic interest

Age and rarity

Around 400 Bellman hangers were built in Britain between 1938 and 1940. Bellman hangars could also be found further afield, for example in Australia. Within the relatively small number ever built, good surviving examples are increasingly rare. A second hangar at Inverness, previously located to the south of this example, is now lost. The surviving example at Inverness Airport is a good representative example of the Bellman hangar type.

Alongside the Inverness airport example, there are a number of others still in use as aircraft hangars, including at Yeovilton and Cosford, while others have been repurposed for other uses, such as the two surviving listed examples at Montrose (LB38230 and LB38232) and the Grade II listed example at Brookland Museum in England.

Social historical interest

Aircraft hangars were an essential part of the rapid development of aviation during the 20^th century.

The building is a tangible link to the Second World War, and to the rapid development of military aviation in the first half of the 20^th century. By the beginning of the Second World War, aerial warfare techniques for combat, reconnaissance, communication and supply had developed to a level that made them an essential requirement for all sides in the conflict. As a relatively new branch of the military, in comparison with terrestrial and naval forces, aerial forces also required a significant amount of purpose-built infrastructure to support their operation, including hangars for the storage and maintenance of aircraft, and the Bellman hangar represents an important step in the development of these facilities before, during and after the Second World War.

As many of the buildings at the other Second World War airfields have since been lost, the Bellman hangar at Inverness airport is a tangible reminder of the area's aviation history.

Association with people or events of national importance

As noted above, the building is directly connected to the Second World War, one of the most important and defining events of the 20th century.

The airfield at Dalcross (Inverness) also has a strong connection to Captain Ernest Edmund Fresson, who originally proposed the site as suitable for an airfield in the 1930s. Fresson was a pioneering figure in the development of aviation in the north of Scotland, founding Highland airways in 1932, starting the first scheduled air service in the Highlands, between Inverness, Wick and Kirkwall, in 1933 and receiving the first domestic airmail contract from the Royal Mail in 1934. He is also credited with numerous airfield innovations that remain in daily use today, such as tarmac runways and the use of runway and landing lights, and a commemorative statue of Captain Fresson is located in the arrivals hall of Inverness Airport.

Recommended Books

• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)