Bomb Store, RAF Norton

Location/Address

Situated to the rear of the disused RAF Norton site, Lightwood Lane, Sheffield

Type

Other site, structure or landscape

Assets that cannot fit any of the other categories. This category includes sites of archaeological interest, where the original form and function may not be apparent without the use of archaeological techniques and interpretation.

Description

The former RAF Norton site was abandoned by the RAF in 1965 and was derelict by the 1990s. Circa 2021 the site was cleared of all remaining structures, with the exception of this outlying bomb store. The structure is situated adjacent to the end of a service road/track and lies within the Moss Valley conservation area. The structure was constructed from concrete in 1939 as part of the first phase of building the RAF station site. The bomb store structure is partially subterranean and is covered by trees, there are two partially concealed entrances that access the main room of the structure, which is further subdivided by blast walls. Original doors are extant as are remnants of electrical services and faint traces of paint remaining on parts of the internal walls. The structure is in very good condition with little sign of concrete/rebar failure. It is heavily vandalised but due to its solid construction has survived almost intact.

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Info

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Tools

Statement of Significance

Asset type

Structure - the last surviving of the former RAF Norton site. It is an example of an RAF bomb store. Recent searches of the RAF museum archives have failed to provide detailed drawings/plans of this actual structure, although the structure is clearly shown and described on the site plan at the archives.

Age

RAF Norton was built in 1938/39 as part of the British response to the expansion of German military aggression. Many RAF stations were built in this period and used lightweight materials (timber/pressed steel etc) to provide quickly erected structures. Many sites of this period have been returned to agriculture or redeveloped leaving very little trace of these once critical infrastructures. Locally RAF Norton was a unique survivor of these smaller (possibly temporary) sites and was decommissioned during the cold war in 1965. The bomb store is the last defence structure of the wartime period found locally (since the remainder of the site was cleared in 2021).

Rarity

As described previously there are no plans for this structure at the RAF archives which could lead to the conclusion that this is a one off, or a rare survivor of a once common and potentially forgotten type of structure. It is undoubtedly unique within the Sheffield City boundary.

Architectural and Artistic Interest

This is an example of concrete defence infrastructure/fortification possibly one of very few remaining in Sheffield.

Historic Interest

This asset provides a tangible link to the past activities within the immediate Norton/Gleadless and wider city area. Although the original users of the structure are no longer present, it holds the collective memory for many generations who have grown up locally, as a place of interest. It provides context to the former married quarters housing nearby, aiding understanding and evidence for the street names of roads such as Adastral Avenue. The RAF Norton site was a barrage balloon centre for the defence of Sheffield, staffed and managed almost completely by women (unique at the time) and a significant example of women's contribution to the war effort. Post-war the site employed many local civilians. RAF personnel from Norton attended, annually, Sheffield Lord Mayor's and Remembrance parades. Later it became a service depot and aerial erector training centre before being decommissioned in 1965. In the late 1970s it was used to store and deploy AFS fire engines during industrial action by fire fighters. The other structures on site (recently demolished) were very familiar to those living in the area as they were visible clearly from the road. The area was used in the 1980s as a driver trainer centre by the now defunct South Yorkshire County Council and is familiar as the place where many people learned to drive (on the sites original road layout).

Archaeological Interest

As the only surviving structure of RAF Norton, the structure is physical evidence of Sheffield's contribution to the Second World War and the Cold War. It is accessible to the public and provides a physical link to activity in these periods.

Images and Documents

Photo

Entrance to Bomb Store