History:
De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre is an aviation museum located in London Colney, Hertfordshire, England. The aircraft museum along with the hall is indeed one of the oldest sites in the UK. It is situated relatively close to the ancient Roman Civilization city ‘Verulamium’ and St Albans, the late Saxon foundation town. In fact, the site is partially connected to the first century BC settlement of Wheathampstead.
(Photo: Salisbury Hall in 1789)
De Havilland Aircraft Heritage centre was once a manor of Shenleybury in the 9th century. History reflects Asgar the Stallar as the owner of the mansion who was a high official to the Wessex King Egbert. The site of the museum had also witnessed several conquest and wars including the famous Norman conquest that resulted in the de Mandeville family, who looked after the place until The Doomsday Book (1086) was written. Three centuries later, Sir John Montague (Earl of Salisbury) received the manor upon his marriage in 1380. From that time onwards, it received its name as ‘Salisbury Hall’. Following is a short historical timeline of the museum:
- 1507 – Sir John Cutte, who was the treasurer of King Henry VII and VIII, built a new house
- 1668 – this house was purchased by a London Banker name James Hoare
- 17th Century – the nephew of Sir Jeremy Snow, John Snell received the hall
- 18th & 19th Century – the hall was in possession of farmers who were said to be successors of John Snell
- 1905 – Lady Randolph Churchill (Mrs. Cornwallis West) occupied the hall as a residence. Winston Churchill, her son, became a frequent visitor of the site.
- The 1930s – Sir Nigel Gresley of London and North-Eastern Railway
- 1939 – de Havilland Aircraft Company used the hall for designing the Mosquito along with two prototypes built in the adjacent buildings
- 1947 – de Havilland Aircraft Company left the Salisbury hall which left it in devastating condition
- 1955 – Walter Goldsmith, a former Royal Marine Major took over the hall and surrounding site
- 1959 – Walter Goldsmith brought back the old Mosquito Prototypes and opened the site for public
- 1981 – Walter Goldsmith sold the ownership of the hall, and it remains private to date
Today de Havilland Aircraft Museum is widely recognised as the British’s first aviation collection museum. If you’re looking for a ‘hands-on’ aviation adventure with family, de Havilland Aircraft Museum is the best place to start with.
(Photo: A few of the veterans pose with the museum’s TT(B)35 Mosquito. Image courtesy Garry Lakin)
Opening Hours: 10:30 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday (Closed on Monday only)
Ticket Pricing: Adult: £10* (£9), Senior Citizen: £8* (£7.25), Children 5-16: £6* (£5.45), Family: £25* (£22.70), Under 5s: free