Huge crowds of over 3500 flocked to Bentley Priory on 22 May to enjoy the sunshine and a hugely entertaining day out.  The bands, singers and dancers were superb and the crowds loved the thrilling display by a Mark 9 Spitfire of the Royal Air force's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

In the evening over 350 people enjoyed a swing dance with a delicious buffet provided by excellent local catering firm 'Eclipse'.  After a stirring 1940s session from the Harrow Apollo Male Choir, they then danced the night away to the wonderful music of 'Hands of Jazz'.

Overall it was a hugely successful (if rather exhausting for our wonderful volunteers) event which raised in the region of £18 000 to be shared between St Luke's Hospice and the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust.  We really enjoyed working with the team from St Luke's and hope to repeat the partnership for future events.

The photo shows the huge crowd eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Spitfire.

This years Heritage Open Days from 9-13 September at Bentley Priory were very popular.  During the 4 days we were open over 5000 visitors enjoyed a mixture of tours, re-enactors, 1940s dancing, cream teas and a breath taking fly past from a Spitfire and Hurrican of the Royal Air Force's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.  A full report and photos will be posted soon.  In the meantime you may wish to see the report from the Harrow Times.

Trustees would like to thank all those who took part in the exhibition in particular the re-enactors of the Ops1930-45 RAF Living History Group, Harrow Museum, Bushey Museum, Lincolnsfields 1940s House and the Jewish Military Museum for their displays and exhibits that added so much to the success of the event.

Trustees would also like to thank all the hard working volunteers without whom the event could not have happened.

Members of the Ops 1930-45 RAF Living History Group recreated Lord Dowding's Operations Room and map - Picture by Harrow Observer Bentley Priory was taken back to the 1940s - photo courtesy David Levey

Member of the RAF Living History Group recreated the tension of the Operations Room and the camaraderie of the Aircrew of the Battle of Britain - Pictures by Harrow Observer

The recent announcement of the delays in the sale of the site have led to considerable local and national media coverage. You can catch up with the stories through the following links:

BBC Radio 4 - The Today Programme ( Tue 31 March)

Daily Telegraph - (Mon 30 March)

The Times - (Wed 11 March)

World War II museum 'threatened'
BBC News - UK
Developer VSM Estates planned to sell the former RAF Bentley Priory site, in Stanmore, for conversion into apartments and a museum by 2010. ...

Ministry of Defence attacked over RAF Bentley Priory museum
Harrow Times - UK
By Jack Royston >> THE Ministry of Defence has been labelled "irresponsible" over how it handled the sale of RAF Bentley Priory. ...

Museum for Spitfire pilots put in doubt (From Daily Echo)
Harrow Council said uncertainty over the future of the site of RAF Bentley Priory risked a "crucial piece" of history being mothballed, and urged the Government to stump up the necessary funds. Bentley Priory, in Stanmore, north London, ...

Despite Trustees very best endeavours, the sale of the site hoped for at the end of January, did not reach completion.

Detailed planning consent had been obtained in the middle of 2008, ahead of placing the site on the market. This represented a high quality and sympathetic development of just 95 units on the 55-acre site plus 8 apartments in the Priory and suited the Trust's plans very well.

In spite of the dire economic climate, the MOD and their development partner, VSM Estates, had secured an acceptable offer from a large residential developer. A well-respected, smaller specialist development company was planned to be sub-contracted to restore the Priory and create the museum. Collectively, the Trust had conducted a vast amount of legal work with the partners and with the London Borough of Harrow.

The LB Harrow had proposed a very detailed set of planning instructions, which would help the Trust deliver the museum (including a 60 year lease at no cost) and were also acceptable to the developers. The Trust had negotiated a sinking fund for future service charges at a cost of only £100,000 to the Trust, which removed all future liability. Overall, the deal was worth in excess of £10 million to the Trust.

On that basis, we were due to complete on 29 January and, following full scrutiny by Trustees, were ready to sign the related agreements. However, at the eleventh hour, the developer failed to agree terms with VSM Estates and the MOD. Consequently, the site was withdrawn from sale with a view to re-marketing it when economic conditions improve, the current estimate is mid-2010.

This is clearly very disappointing to the Trust and our supporters. We had spent an enormous amount of time in seeking to bring the sale to a conclusion, not to mention significant expenditure on legal fees.

But all is far from lost, as we have now established the detailed commercial arrangements that will need to define any future sale agreement and we also have a set of detailed documentation (a least a foot thick) which lays out these arrangements in a way that we know would be acceptable to a developer. Nevertheless, if things had been different, we would now have started the refurbishment of the Priory.

In the period before the site is re-marketed, we continue to have use of the Priory for fund-raising events and to maintain the profile of the project. Indeed, this month we held a very successful print-signing event supported by 20 of our veterans. We need to continue fund-raising activity so that we are prepared for a major £2.5 million appeal once the future sale deal is signed. We are also working with the Heritage Lottery Fund (who describe the Priory as 'blue-chip heritage') and our designers to maximise the museum's public appeal.

Trustees did all that they could to bring this sale across the line we just couldn't beat the market conditions. Please rest assured that Trustees remain fully committed to delivering a sustainable museum at Bentley Priory and are confident that the deal crafted is the best way forward. We just need to wait for the market to improve for the sale to go ahead. In the mean time the Trust plans to open Bentley Priory to the public for a number of events this year, please see our events page for more details.

 CIVIC TRUST HERITAGE OPEN DAYS A GREAT SUCCESS

 Over 5500 visitors enjoyed the Open Days at Bentley Priory from 11-14 September.  The prebooked tours on Thursday and Friday were fully booked in an extraordinarily quick time and huge numbers of people came to visit on Saturday and Sunday. 

By the end of the weekend tour guides and volunteers were exhausted but happy.  It was fabulous to see so many individuals and families appreciating the important history of Bentley Priory and enjoying the beautiful grounds.   Trustees would like to thank all those who visited Bentley Priory and all those whose help made the event such a success.  There are too many volunteers to name them all individually but particular thanks must go to the Civic Trust for their help in organising the event, the Air Cadets of 120 (Hendon) and 2236 (Stanmore) Squadron Air Training Corp for their hard work and the wonderful band of 2236 (Stanmore) ATC who entertained the huge crowds and the London Borough of Harrow for their support.   

A full account of the Open Days together with video clips, photographs and oral history recordings from veterans can be found on the Harrow Times Web Site.    

The Open Days helped to raise over £4,500 towards our fundraising target of £2M. 

For those who missed the event a short tour of the Priory is given on the 'BBC On Demand' web site.  It is possible for group visits to the Priory to be arranged subject to a donation to the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust tomeet the costs of arranging the tour and to help with our fundraising target.  Please contact Erica Ferguson on bentleypriory@btinternet.com for further information.

A tour group enjoying learning about the house and groundsThe Band of 2236 (Stanmore) Squadron Air Training Corp' entertain visitors in the Italian Gardens

Volunteer helpers from 120 (Hendon) Air Training Corp meet veterans of the Battle of BritainVisitors on the Grand Staircase browse aviation art and merchandise

At a meeting on 23 July 2008, the Planning Committee of the London Borough of Harrow granted planning consent for the scheme submitted by VSM Estates.  The overall scheme for the 55-acre site includes the Museum and 8 residential units in the Priory building and a total of 103 residential units on the whole site.  Full details of the planning committee meeting can be found on the LB of Harrow's website: www.harrow.gov.uk/bentley

On Friday 15th June His Royal Highness Prince Charles and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall has joined veteran air crew from the Battle of Britain at their spiritual home at RAF Bentley Priory in London.

More than 20 veterans from the Battle which raged principally over Southern England between May and October 1940 chatted about their experiences to Prince Charles and his wife Camilla over tea as part of the BBFA`s annual summer gathering. Guests were then treated to a spectacular Spitfire and Hurricane flypast from the RAF Coningsby-based Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The Prince has maintained an interest in the future of Bentley Priory and his charity, "The Prince`s Regeneration Trust" are advising the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust on planning a sustainable future for the Priory.

TRHs chat with Air Commodore (ret) Pete Brothers, chairman of the BBFA. After commanding 32 and 257 Sqns during the Battle of Britain, he and his friend Douglas "Tin Legs" Bader took part in the Victory flypast over at the end of the war. His last job before retiring in 1973 was as Director of Public Relations for the RAF, which he regarded as a tougher job than fighting Germans! 

Prince Charles chats over tea to veterans. Sgt Tony Pickering, on the left, explains how he was presumed German when he baled out over Surrey!

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall chats to veterans and their families at RAF Bentley Priory.

One of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Spitfire shows her underside as she displays over RAF Bentley Priory in front of the Prince of Wales, the Patron of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association.