Alexandra Park Aerodrome was the second purpose-built aerodrome

Aerodrome

An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...

 in the Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 area. The site was chosen by the War Department in 1917 because of its open agricultural nature, and lay between the neighbouring districts of Fallowfield

Fallowfield

Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth, as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.-Religion:...

, Chorlton

Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about four miles southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: and are both common....

, Withington

Withington

Withington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...

 and West Didsbury, at the junction of Princess Road and Mauldeth Road West, three miles south of Manchester's city centre: the land was owned by the Egerton Estate. The aerodrome's existence is commemorated on a plaque in the sports pavilion at Hough End Playing Fields, which now occupy part of the old airfield's site. A new commemorative plaque was unveiled on 7 July 2007 to mark the 90th anniversary of the airfield. It is located in the grounds of No. 184 (South Manchester) Squadron, Air Cadets

Air Cadets

Air Cadets may refer to:* Members of the British Air Training Corps or Combined Cadet Force* Members of the Australian Air Force Cadets* Members of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets* Members of the New Zealand Air Training Corps, New Zealand Cadet Forces...

, in Hough End Crescent.

Operational history 1918–1919

Following the closure of the Trafford Park Aerodrome (Manchester)

Trafford Park Aerodrome (Manchester)

Trafford Park Aerodrome was the first purpose-built airfield in the Manchester area. Its large all-grass landing field was just south of the Manchester Ship Canal between Trafford Park Road, Moseley Road and Ashburton Road and occupied a large part of the former deer park of Trafford Hall...

 in 1918 after only seven years of use, Alexandra Park Aerodrome was constructed and opened in May 1918 by the War Department

War Department (UK)

The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857 it became the War Office...

 for the assembly, test flying and delivery of aircraft for the RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 built in the Manchester area by A. V. Roe & Company (Avro

Avro

Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...

) at Newton Heath

Newton Heath

Newton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....

 and the National Aircraft Factory No. 2

National Aircraft Factory No. 2

National Aircraft Factory No. 2 was a World War I UK government owned aircraft factory located at Heaton Chapel, Stockport. It produced over 450 warplanes during 1918/19.-Management:...

 (NAF No.2) at Heaton Chapel

Heaton Chapel

Heaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of Heaton Moor to the west, Reddish and Heaton Norris to the east and Heaton Mersey to the west and south...

. The airfield took its name from the nearby Alexandra Park railway station

Alexandra Park railway station

Wilbraham Road railway station was a station on the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway line from Manchester Central via Chorlton-cum-Hardy to Fairfield and Guide Bridge. It was situated near the junction of Alexandra Road South with Mauldeth Road West...

 on the Great Central Railway

Great Central Railway

The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...

 branch line to Manchester (Central) railway station. Many aircraft were brought in major sections by rail from Avro and NAF No.2 to the nearby station; other aircraft came by road.

On 1 May 1919, the first day of civil flying after the First World War, Lt Col Sholto Douglas arrived from Cricklewood Aerodrome London, at the controls of a Handley Page 0/400 converted bomber of Handley Page Transport

Handley Page Transport

Handley Page Transport Ltd was an airline company founded in 1919 by Frederick Handley Page in the new era of civil flying after the First World War....

. The aircraft carried ten passengers in its windowless fuselage and had taken 3 hours 40 minutes from London, against strong headwinds.

The Avro Transport Company operated the UK's first scheduled domestic air service from Alexandra Park via Birkdale Sands (Southport

Southport

Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...

) to South Shore (Blackpool

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

) between 24 May and 30 September 1919, mainly using Avro 504

Avro 504

The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...

 three-seat biplanes. Although the weather caused a few flights to be cancelled, the daily service was operated without mishap. Aircraft left Alexandra Park at 2:00 pm and arrived in Blackpool 45 minutes later, after having stopped over at Southport. Tickets cost 9 guinea

Guinea (British coin)

The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...

s return or 5 guineas one-way, equivalent to about £324 and £180 respectively as of 2008.

Operations 1920–1924

From 1922 until 1924, The Daimler Airway

Daimler Airway

Daimler Airway was an airline subsidiary of BSA group's Daimler Motor Company created to use some of the assets of the failed ventures Airco and its subsidiary Aircraft Transport and Travel acquired by BSA in February 1920.-History:...

 operated daily scheduled passenger flights to Croydon Airport

Croydon Airport

Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...

 near London, later followed by a regular extension to Schiphol Airport Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. The northbound flight left Croydon in the early evening and after an overnight stop, the aircraft returned south during the morning. These timings enabled Manchester passengers to connect easily with Daimler's other continental flights to and from Croydon; also with other airline services from Croydon. On the evening of 14 September 1923 the northbound de Havilland DH.34 ten-seat biplane airliner crashed near Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns during an attempted forced landing in poor weather. The two pilots and three passengers were killed, making this the first fatal accident on an internal air service in the UK: because of this the route was suspended for a period before recommencing.

On the merger of Daimler with other airlines to form Imperial Airways

Imperial Airways

Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...

 in April 1924, the new monopoly airline terminated the service: it was 1930 before Imperial again flew any schedules to any UK airport north of London.

Aircraft competing in the King's Cup Race

King's Cup Race

The King's Cup Race is an annual British handicapped cross-country air race, first contested on 8 September 1922. The event was open to British pilots only, but that did include members of the Commonwealth....

 air races landed here in 1922 and 1923; there were also a number of flying displays at the aerodrome. The Lancashire Aero Club

Lancashire Aero Club

The Lancashire Aero Club is the oldest established Flying Club in the United Kingdom.- Early history :* Late 1922: The club was formed by John F. Leeming and a group of friends who had started to build a glider in Leeming's garage at his home in Bowdon near Altrincham Cheshire...

, the oldest flying club in Britain, operated from Alexandra Park until 1924.

Closure

The terms of the land lease, laid down by Maurice Egerton, Baron Egerton of Tatton, stipulated that flying from the site would cease within five years of the war's end. The hangars and ancillary buildings were demolished, and the aerodrome closed on 24 August 1924. The site would have been unable to cope with the increasing size and weight of airliners by the mid-1930s in any event. Princess Road

A5103 road

The A5103 is a major road in England. It runs from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre to junction 3 of the M56 motorway and is one of Manchester's principal radial routes.- A6 to the A57 motorway :...

 was built through the eastern part of the airfield in 1924–25, and a council housing estate was erected on the eastern edge of the site.

Current status

The remaining area of open land to the west of Princess Road is now Hough End Playing Fields, a council-owned facility with 24 full-size pitches and 3 rugby pitches. These pitches occupy land that was part of the grass airfield. Flying still takes place on the site of the airfield with Hough End Model Aircraft Club keeping the spirit of aviation alive. The aerodrome hangars and ancillary buildings were erected on the site of today's GMP Sports and Social Club at Hough End. This is also where Greater Manchester Police

Greater Manchester Police

Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...

 (GMP) train their dogs and horses. The GMP helicopter uses the pitches at the Sports and Social Club as a landing spot from time to time if it has a medical emergency (patients are taken on to Wythenshawe Hospital

Wythenshawe Hospital

The University Hospital of South Manchester is a major acute teaching hospital in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, England. It provides services for adults and children at Wythenshawe Hospital and Withington Community Hospital...

) or dog handlers need to be airlifted to incidents in the helicopter.