Beacon Hill
Note: This map only gives the location of Highclere village within the UK.
BEACON HILL: Private flying ground (also known as SEVEN BARROWS & HIGHCLERE)
Operated by: Moore-Brabazon and Geoffrey de Havilland
Location: Near the A343 roughly between 5 nm SSW of Newbury. CRUX EASTON is 2nm almost S of HIGHCLERE just W of the A343. BEACON HILL is about a mile or so ENE of CRUX EASTON. SEVEN BARROWS is now under the ‘new’ A34 SW of Burghclere. On thing seems certain, this mess needs to be cleared up and HIGHCLERE is really a red herring; these early flights took place near HIGHCLERE.
Period of operation: 1909 to 1910?
NOTES: Another recently found account states that the first aeroplane Moore-Brabazon had, “a rather comic construction’ with a Buchet engine, four-bladed propellers, rudders at the side, and a trailing stabilising plane in addition to an elevator. Of much interest Major C C Turner states in his wonderful book The Early Flying Years probably published around 1927 (?), that according to Moore-Brabazon this machine was being built at the same place and time as Mr A V Roe’s first machine in 1907. “It never flew!” But, where was this ‘aircraft’ based? This is very interesting as I can find no other reference to A V Roe and Moore-Brabazon being co-located. Except of course, just possibly at BROOKLANDS?
Note: This picture, attributed to de Havilland, was scanned from the most excellent book, British Aviation - The Pioneer Years by Harald Penrose first published in 1967.
THE de HAVILLAND PRESENCE
Geoffrey de Havilland transported his finished aircraft from FULHAM in (LONDON) to the sheds used by John Brabazon at SEVEN BARROWS.
It seems de Havilland first very briefly flew from here in December 1909, in an aircraft of his own design from nearby BEACON HILL. It was however a catastrophic affair breaking up shortly after take-off. Please see the account by Harald Penrose in his book mentioned above - it is very revealing.
GREAT NEWS!
He survived unscathed and then built a much better machine, the de Havilland 2, which he flew quite extensively in the late summer of 1910 also from BEACON HILL. Harald Penrose gives us this account from the edition of The Newbury Weekly News published on the 22nd September 1910. We do of course need to bear in mind that elsewhere many early aviators and designers were making significant progress in aviation.
THE ALL BRITISH BIPLANE
The de Havilland Aeroplane Flies at Beacon Hill
"For some time it has been an open secret that the sheds at Beacon Hill contained an aeroplane in an almost completed state, and that very shortly trials would take place. These have now come off with every success. The first flight took place on Saturday in the previous week, when the biplane was launched and behaved itself in the way that its inventors wished. Again on Tuesday, a second flight was attempted and Lord Carnarvon, on whose grounds the sheds are built, and over whose property the aeroplane flew, was present, and was elated at the success which attended the efforts of the flying men."
"On Saturday last a more extended trial took place. The biplane, after several adjustments which experience from the former flights had decreed necessary, was taken from the sheds in the early evening when the atmosphere is at its calmest. It takes four people properly to manipulate it on the ground, when it rests on a pair of pneumatic tyred wheels beneath the centre." Isn't this account so vivid and lovely to read today.
"The two constructors, Mr. Geoffrey de Havilland and Mr. F. T. Hearle, stand waiting for a favourable opportunity, after the radiator has been filled with water and the tank charged with petrol. Mr. de Havilland mounts carefully into the seat at the front, for these machines are fragile although constructed with much scientific accuracy, and the word is given to stand clear. Then Mr. Hearle gets the compression on the engine by twisting the propeller, and the word is given to go. He gives a quick revolution and stands clear, for it would be certain death to come into contact with the blades circling at 1,000 revolutions per minute. A moment's hesitation, a lot of blue oily smoke, and the biplane gathers way." Can't you just smell it?
"At first very slowly it bumps along the ground, but with increasing speed denoted by the high hum of the propeller and the quicker bangs of the exhaust, the elevators come into play, and the wheels glide along the ground touching occasionally, while the tail skids along. A quicker speed, more smoke, more noise, and at last it is clear, and immediately the pace through the air increases. The speed is great, possibly 30 miles an hour, and feeling its way, the machine, like a giant bird, rises until it has reached about 30 ft. from the ground." I doubt I have ever read a better account of one of those early aeroplanes taking off.
MUCH MORE TO LEARN
"It is, however, early days, and Mr. de Havilland has not yet completely mastered the vagaries of the machine on which a false move means a big smash. He descends to the ground and runs, taking jumps of 40 or 50 ft. Again a high flight, 500 yards being covered before the ground is next touched, and now circling, to gain mastery over the movements of the engine and plane, and after a few miles have been accomplished the machine is brought to rest immediately in front of the huts." Without any doubt an astonishing account of just how quickly de Havilland taught himself to fly without any tuition as such.
"Another trial followed, and after an hour's experiment, just as the light was failing, the biplane was stabled. Experiments are being continued, and almost every fine still afternoon flights may be witnessed taking place over the specially cut track which extends obliquely from the sheds to the Winchester Road, a distance of over half a mile."
The reference to a "specially cut track" is, I think, very interesting. This is the first reference I have come across regarding what we today would consider a 'runway'.
MISLEADING
Regarding Moore-Brabazon, here again is another fine example of just how misleading so much aviation history can be. When starting on my research for this 'Guide' I only discovered SEVEN BARROWS (HIGHCLERE etc) several years later. Indeed, compared to his later activities at SHELL BEACH, LEYSDOWN and EASTCHURCH on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, I discovered no mention was made of his involvement on this preceding flying site!
Moore-Brabazon apparently initiated operations here in 1909 by building two “airplane sheds” to house his Voison aircraft before moving his flying activities to SHELL BEACH – LEYSDOWN on the Isle of Sheppey in KENT. From where he gained the very first British Pilot License.
A CELEBRATION
On the 10th September 2010 The de Havilland Moth Club staged a mass Fly-In to celebrate Geoffrey de Havillands first ‘successful’ flight.
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