Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...
, north
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
UK.
History
The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles – Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonnington died in 1921) in October 1915. The company used the aerodrome for flying training during the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. London & Provincial ceased flying in July 1919 after a dispute with Department of Civil Aviation (see
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority), which refused them a licence.
Stag Lane became the main base of
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited in 1920 and they purchased the
freehold in 1922. Former wartime aircraft were refurbished in the early years, and the company designed and built large numbers of aircraft at Stag Lane in the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1934 the company moved to a larger factory and airfield at
Hatfield Aerodrome,
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, 39,201 at the 2011 census, and 41,265 at the 2021 census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House ...
.
Stag Lane Aerodrome was sold for housing development in 1933, though a small site was retained as a factory and offices for the
de Havilland Engine Company Limited. The last flight from the airfield was by a
de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth, G -ACTA in July 1934, by which time the company factory had been relocated to Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
British Telecom
In 1976 the
GPO (later
British Telecom) opened the world's largest international exchange on the site, due to the hold ups in the construction of their new
Mondial House, with the "De Havilland" Plessey
TXK2 and "Mollison" Ericsson TXK5.
The exchange closed in 1988, as most of the analogue technology was out of date.
Aircraft built at Stag Lane
*
Cierva C.24 Autogiro
*
de Havilland DH.34
*
de Havilland DH.50
*
de Havilland DH.51
*
de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird
*
de Havilland DH.60 Moth/Gipsy Moth
*
de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth
*
de Havilland DH.65 Hound
*
de Havilland DH.66 Hercules
*
de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth
*
de Havilland DH.75 Hawk Moth
*
de Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth
*
de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth
*
de Havilland DH.83 Fox Moth
*
de Havilland DH.84 Dragon
*
de Havilland DH.85 Leopard Moth
*
de Havilland DH.86 Express
*de Havilland DH.87a Hornet Moth
References
*
{{BT Group
Airports established in 1915
Aircraft industry in London
Airports in the London region
BT Group buildings and structures
De Havilland
Defunct airports in England
Edgware
History of Middlesex
International telecommunications
Telephone exchange buildings
1915 establishments in England