See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Constructed in 1940 and extended in 1942 to incorporate the adjacent civilian aerodrome. It transferred to Royal Marines in the 1990s and is still in use. Several extant wartime structures survive around perimeter of site.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1391894
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS43SE/251

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• AIRFIELD (World War II to XX - 1940 AD to 2000 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1940, RAF/HLA/046, NMR RAF/HLA/046 13-14 02-AUG-1940 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349739.

The airfield is visible under construction.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1501, NMR RAF/106G/UK/1501 4010-4011 13-MAY-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349927.

The fully developed Second World War airfield is visible.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1655, NMR RAF/106G/UK/1655 4329-4330 11-JUL-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349996.

The fully developed Second World War airfield is visible.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1655/3241 (Aerial Photograph). SDV342297.

Royal Air Force, 1964, RAF 543/2821 F62, NMR RAF/543/2821 F62 0214-0215 27-APR-1964 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350211.

The airfield is largely unchanged, but smaller dispersal areas have been removed.

Ordnance Survey, 1964, Untitled Source (Cartographic). SDV339898.

'Works' shown.

Ordnance Survey, 1971, Untitled Source (Cartographic). SDV342209.

'Royal Air Force Chivenor' shown.

Unknown, 1994, Untitled Source (Unattributed Sites and Monuments Register Entry). SDV342335.

Airbase established in World War II. The Royal Air Force aerial photographs show the site clearly, with buildings, barracks, roadways, runways and dispersed bays. The portion to the east of Chivenor Village is taken up with aircraft dispersal bays. There is also an area of buildings marked 'Works' on the Ordnance Survey 6 inch map of 1964.

Watkins, D., 1995, RAF Chivenor: Britain in Old Photographs (Monograph). SDV350216.

Text and accompanying images on pages 24, 55, 58, 102.

Francis, P., 1999, Exeter Airport. Historic Airport Survey for Devon County Council & East Devon District Council, 17 (Report - non-specific). SDV323390.

In June 1940 work began on construction of a major RAF Coastal Command airfield at Chivenor, on an adjacent site to the (civil) Barnstaple Aerodrome. Once this became operational, the original (civil) aerodrome was used as a satellite. During 1940 the civilian hangar and airline staff became a small part of the Cvilian Repair Organisation, to overhaul and repair a substantial number of light Royal Air Force and requisitioned aircraft.
Meanwhile, chivenor had entered service as a Beaufort crew training station, and was soon taken over as one of the most important Coastal Command bases. By late 1942 it had become necessary to lengthen the main runway and substantially increase the number of hardstandings and marshalling area for aircraft dispersal. Because of the limitations of the estuary site this could only be done in an easterly direction, and the original (civil) Barnstaple Aerodrome was swallowed up within this expansion.

Next Perspectives, 2001, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS4934 22-MAY-2001 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349376.

The Second World War hangars and several possible station headquarters buildings survive.

Delve, K., 2006, The Military Airfields of Britain. South-Western England: Channel Islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire (Monograph). SDV349964.

Page 63-67.

Wessex Archaeology, 2007, RMB Chivenor Flood Defence Scheme Barnstaple, Devon: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment, 1, 11 (Report - Assessment). SDV342125.

Royal Marine Barracks (RMB) Chivenor, is an active military base. The site comprises grassed land of the airfield, with tarmac runways and ancillary buildings. The north-eastern corner of the site is occupied by buildings of the military base, including operations, maintenance storage and accommodation. Initially the site was developed as Barnstaple Airport, opening in 1934 providing an air service to Lundy Island. With the outbreak of World War II, the comercial airfield was enlarged for military purposes and developed as a coastal base for maritime operations. After the war the base was used predominantly for weapons training, and was redeveloped and expanded during the 1980s. In the mid 1990s control of the base was transferred to the Royal Marines and Royal Engineers. The airfield is still used for the landing of military aircraft and as the base for the Search and Rescue helicopters. Development has always been contained within the extent of the modern site boundary. Whilst the majority of the World War II structures have been lost, there are a few extant anti-aircraft batteries and pill boxes around the perimeter of the site. The airfield itself was formally laid out during the 1940s and remains little changed since then. Other details: WA 192. Figures 1-2.

Next Perspectives, 2010, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS4934 08-APR-2010 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349899.

The possible ‘extra-over blister hangar’ has been removed and surviving station headquarters buildings have been demolished and replaced with modern structures.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.

The wartime extent of RAF Chivenor is visible as a range of structures and earthworks on aerial photograph of 1940 onwards. Aerial photographs of 1940 reveal the runways under construction and many of the surrounding field boundaries recently removed. An aerial photograph of 1942, not available to the survey but reproduced in Watkins 1995 publication, reveals the probably short-lived camouflage recreating the removed field boundaries that was painted across the site.
Only those Second World War structures and features not depicted on the current Ordnance Survey base map and which predate 1945-1946 have been transcribed. Many of these are small structures of unknown function, a number of which survive around the perimeter of the site, for instance at SS 50733482, SS50263482 and SS 49183402 Other structures or features, the function of which can be identified or interpreted with some confidence are discussed below.
Possible air raid shelters are visible across the airfield as sub-rectangular earthwork mounds circa 15 by 7 metres, probably concealing a hardened internal structure accessed by a narrow slit entrance towards one end. A concentration of five or six can be seen along the northern perimeter, centred around SS 50003485, while at least twelve more can be seen distributed among the ancillary buildings and accommodation billets or ‘lines’. Two larger, roughly square earthwork and concrete features, located at circa SS 49663490 and SS 48973473, each appear to have six slit entrances on one side, and might be larger communal air raid shelters.
Much of the eastern airfield was formerly the Barnstaple Aerodrome of the Barnstaple and North Devon Flying Club, which was absorbed into the RAF airfield. This eastern area contained a high proportion of the airfields dispersal hards, many of which have been replaced by a modern housing development and Chivenor Business Park. Two of the southernmost ‘concrete spectacle’ dispersal areas survive and are used as helicopter landing pads and parking. The western dispersal ‘concrete spectacle’ areas survive largely intact at circa SS 488345. Of the five large 150 foot (circa 46 metre) diameter dispersal areas recorded for the airfield, two have been absorbed into the modern airfied infrastructure, at circa SS 49773437 and SS 50113437 (the latter variously used as a tennis court, car park and more recently a helicopter landing pad) and two more centred at circa SS 507344 have been removed. The fifth has not been identified. A loop of seven smaller (seven metre diameter) dispersal hards and possibly associated huts was located at circa SS 499340. The huts had been removed and evidence of the tracks fading by April of 1964. Several more similar sized single dispersal areas were located around the perimeter of the airfield, but have also been removed.
The most numerous type of structure on the site were the black painted wooden accommodation billets or ‘lines’. The officers’ mess was a structure centred at circa SS 499103443, to the north of which were three lines of billets; the officers’ quarters (E lines) and the airmans’ quarters (C and D lines). The officers’ mess has now been demolished and the ‘lines’ replaced by a car park. Further ‘lines’ of huts have been transcribed at circa SS 49813450 and centred at SS 499348. According to Watkins most were sold in the early 1970s and the last dismantled in 1992.
The airfield playing fields were located at circa SS499346. The airmans’ mess and club were located to the north of playing fields, centred at circa SS 49903474 and SS 49953473, but have also been removed. The Station Headquarters were located to the east of the former playing fields. Six huts which might have formed part of this complex, centred on circa SS 49823466, survived until at least 2001 but had been demolished and replaced by modern buildings by 2010. A low concrete building complex surrounded by an earthwork blast wall, located to the south of the huts at SS 49843459, might have been the operational centre of the airfield headquarters. This complex remained extant until at least 1970.
The largest surviving Second World War structures on site are probably the aircraft hangars located to the east of the runways. Eight large rectangular structures in two rows of four, centred at circa SS 496346, are probably the surviving four Bellman Hangars and four Hinaidi hangars. A smaller curved profile structure at circa SS 49733480 might be the ‘extra-over blister hangar’, remained visible on digital interactive images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2001, but had been removed by 2010.
The wartime control tower and associated buildings can be seen at circa SS 49523467, to the west of which, between the tower and runways, were the airfield ground identification signs, painted or cut onto the turf. Both the tower and signage had been removed by 2001.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV323390	Report - non-specific: Francis, P.. 1999. Exeter Airport. Historic Airport Survey for Devon County Council & East Devon District Council. Airfield Research Publishing Report. Digital + A4. 17.
SDV339898	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1964. Ordnance Survey 6 inch map. Map (Paper).
SDV342125	Report - Assessment: Wessex Archaeology. 2007. RMB Chivenor Flood Defence Scheme Barnstaple, Devon: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment. Wessex Archaeology Report. 67300.01. A4 Stapled + Digital. 1, 11.
SDV342209	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1971. Ordnance Survey 6 inch map. Map (Paper).
SDV342297	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1655/3241. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper).
SDV342335	Unattributed Sites and Monuments Register Entry: Unknown. 1994.
SDV349018	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011 - 2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV349376	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2001. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS4934 22-MAY-2001.
SDV349739	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1940. RAF/HLA/046. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/HLA/046 13-14 02-AUG-1940.
SDV349899	Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2010. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS4934 08-APR-2010.
SDV349927	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1501. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/UK/1501 4010-4011 13-MAY-1946.
SDV349964	Monograph: Delve, K.. 2006. The Military Airfields of Britain. South-Western England: Channel Islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire. The Military Airfields of Britain. South-Western England: Channel Islands,. Paperback Volume.
SDV349996	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1655. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/UK/1655 4329-4330 11-JUL-1946.
SDV350211	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1964. RAF 543/2821 F62. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/543/2821 F62 0214-0215 27-APR-1964.
SDV350216	Monograph: Watkins, D.. 1995. RAF Chivenor: Britain in Old Photographs. RAF Chivenor. A5 Paperback.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4490 - RMB Chivenor Flood Defence Scheme Barnstaple, Devon: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment
• EDV4774 - Historic Airport Survey, Exeter Airport
• EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.