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Site Records


Site Name: Gatwick Airport - Passenger Subway

The Beehive
Beehive Ring Road
Crawley, West Sussex
TQ287399

Sub Brit site visit September 1995

[Source: Nick Catford]

 


Gatwick Airport Station in 1950

It was not until 1996, just after the building celebrated its sixtieth anniversary, that its architectural importance was finally recognised by listing. When British Airways franchise operator, GB Airways, needed to relocate offices and control centre, BAA decided to bring the building back into modern-day use. At the same, BAA spent over £1m in conservation and enhancements of the building which was officially re-opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 1st December 2000. The Beehive was subsequently sold to GB Airways. ......................................................................

Photo:Gatwick Airport Station in 1995
Photo by Nick Catford

As the main entrance to the building had been through the tunnel a new entrance had to be created. The stairway up from the tunnel is still there, as are some 20 meters of the tunnel itself, which has been renovated to give a glimpse of the 1930s flying experience.

Photo:Lookin east along the tunnel from the terminal
Photo by Nick Catford

Members of Subterranea Britannica in visited the tunnel in September 1995. Entrance to was down a flight of steps from the ground floor of the terminal building. At that time the tunnel was unused and very wet. There was lighting but most of the lights at the eastern end were no longer working. Close to a bend in the middle a heavy beam had been placed across the tunnel, presumably as the walls were becoming unstable at that point. At the eastern end a stairway up to the station was blocked near the top. The overgrown station platforms were still intact at this time but have subsequently been demolished.

Photo:Looking west along the tunnel from Gatwick from the stwps up to the station
Photo by Nick Catford

 

Photo:The steps up to Gatwick Airport Station
Photo by Nick Catford

 

[Source: Nick Catford]

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