In its early years what is now Heathrow Airport was the Great West Aerodrome, sometimes known as Heathrow Aerodrome.
Areas of land bought at Heathrow, Harmondsworth, Middlesex by Fairey Aviation [7] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Acres | Date | Seller | Name of land | |
71 | 31 Jan 1929 | Rev. R. Ross, vicar of Harmondsworth as trustee of parochial church council | ||
23.5 | 12 Feb 1929 | Rev. J. Taylor & others (ditto) | ||
14.2375 | 4 Mar 1929 | Gamble's Farm (+ buildings) | ||
40.86875 | 16 Apr 1929 | Official Trustees of Charity Land | ||
29.25 | 16 Jun 1930 | Lowe's Farm | ||
12 | 5 Jan 1939 | F.W.Longhurst | ||
38.65625 | 2 Dec 1942 | |||
10.40625 | 1 Nov 1943 | |||
circa 240 acres in TOTAL | ||||
After this list was made, it bought a bit more land, the last in November 1943, extending the southwest border to the Duke of Northumberland's River. [8] |
It is manifestly so much easier for the Civil Aviation authorities to look over the airports near London, that the foresight of private companies has made available, and then using government backing forcibly to acquire them, than to go to the infinite trouble that we had in making an aerial survey to find the site, buying the land from different owners, and then building up a fine airfield from what was market-gardening land. And why the haste to proceed? I cannot escape the thought that the hurry is not uninspired by the fact that a post-war government might not be armed with the power or even be willing to take action that is now being rushed through at the expense of the war effort. [13]
Photographs of Heathrow Airport in 1953 or 1954
A new terminal building to the west of Terminal 5 and the eventual demolition of Terminal 3 to make way for a series of new satellite terminals. The creation of new public transport interchange points and the consolidation of parking facilities.
BAA this week announced their intention to revive the name Heathrow as the official title of the airport. This, they say, is being done to avoid confusion with the other two airports which serve London, Gatwick and Stansted. In future they will refer to what is now known as London Airport as Heathrow Airport-London.
Media related to History of Heathrow Airport at Wikimedia Commons