Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. During the early/mid-1930s, it was one of the two airfields (with Liverpool Speke) handling scheduled services for the Merseyside region. Hooton Park was home to No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron and, post Second World War, to No. 611 (West Lancashire) and No. 663 (AOP) Squadron.
The airfield closed in 1957 after the disbandment of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, but the three pairs of Belfast Truss hangars erected in 1917 survived the closure. The site was bought by Vauxhall Motors, who built their Vauxhall Ellesmere Port plant there, which today produces the Vauxhall Astra. A small remaining section of the airfield site is now owned and managed by The Hooton Park Trust. The hangars are also home to The Griffin Trust and an aircraft preservation society named The Aeroplane Collection. Another part of the old airfield, including a length of the old paved runway, perimeter track and the apron used to park Meteor jet fighters, remains in the ownership of The Naylor Trust. A Second World War B1 hangar is also on this site.
History
Site background
In 1070 William the Conqueror granted the lands of Hooton to Adam de Aldithly. Eventually they passed to the Stanley family through a series of marriages. After the Battle of Bosworth, Hooton had a new hall and the first Lord Derby in Lancashire. A second half-timbered hall was built in 1488.
A third, Italianate, hall was constructed circa 1778, but this later sold to cover the Stanley family's gambling debts in 1850. The hall and adjoining land was bought by a Mr. Naylor, a wealthy Liverpool banker, for 82,000 guineas. He spent a further 50,000 guineas on the addition of a 100-foot tower, an art gallery, and a large dining hall. He also built a racecourse, polo ground, heronry, stud farm and a church in Childer Thornton in memory of his first wife. His yacht was moored on the River Mersey, but in the 1890s the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal cut off his access to the river, so he moved to another of his properties in Nottinghamshire.
To avoid paying rates the hall was emptied of contents and staff, but the estate continued to be farmed and the racecourse and polo ground remained in use.
First World War
War was declared on 4 August 1914, and Hooton Park's racecourse was used for the last time some ten days later. The British War Department then requisitioned the estate for use as an army training ground. The hall became a headquarters, hospital, and officers' mess. Lord Derby recruited the first Pals regiments and Hooton became the training ground for the 18th Battalion of the Kings Liverpool Rifles. They left for France, and fought in the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916.
The War Department built one single and three double aircraft hangars, which were completed in 1917. These hangars had a unique latticed timber roof construction – Belfast Trusses – which were originally used in the Belfast shipyards to cover large working areas, and which provided strength at low cost.
Hooton Park then became the No. 4 Training Depot Station. The Royal Flying Corps moved in to form the fighter squadrons so badly needed in France, using Sopwith Scouts, Sopwith Dolphins and Avro 504s. Some of the pilots killed in training accidents were buried in the local churchyard at nearby Eastham. Large numbers of American and Canadian pilots were also trained at Hooton Park.
On 1 April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force. By the end of the First World War, the 37 aircraft on charge were moved to RAF Sealand and RAF Hooton Park was closed. During the following years the airfield reverted to farmland. The hangars were empty and the hall was so damaged by military use that it was sold as a redevelopment opportunity. and subsequently demolished (although the racecourse and polo ground remained).
Civil aviation between the Wars
The airfield site was purchased by Mr. G.H. Dawson, an aviation enthusiast. In the summer of 1927, the Liverpool Corporation held an air pageant at Hooton as part of its civic week. This show was such a success that the Liverpool and District Aero Club was formed. Dawson allowed the new club to use his aerodrome for a fee. After only twelve months the club became one of the most successful in the country, and along with Barton and Woodford Aerodromes was one of the centres for aviation in the north of England. For three years the aerodrome served as Merseyside's Airport.