A bold couple are set to invest £250,000 to turn a crumbling wartime RAF control tower into their dream home.
It’s a dramatic take-off for Jon and Shelly Booty who are now getting their ambitious two-year project off the ground at RAF West Raynham, near Fakenham, Norfolk, after selling their house.
And the huge venture is going to be a special labour of love for Jon as he used to live on the famous base when he was a boy as his parents were in the air force.
Shelly and Jon Booty, pictured, are investing £250,000 to turn this former RAF control tower into their dream home
The couple, pictured on the roof of their home, at the former RAF West Raynham, near Fakenham, Norfolk
Sat between a runway and field of solar panels, the building went up at the height of the Second World War as a very heavy bomber control tower (pictured)
Sat between a runway and field of solar panels, the building went up at the height of the Second World War as a heavy bomber control tower.
It’s thought to be one of only four of its design remaining in the country – and the best preserved after more than 70 years of heavy duty use.
‘We didn’t go out looking for a control tower,’ said Mr Booty, a fork lift engineer.
‘We spotted it online being sold as a commercial property and came and had a look and went from there.’
That was in the summer of 2015 but it was not until last November that the excited Bootys finally got the precious keys to the door.
‘As it is Grade II listed we started with the complex planning process before we even bought it.
‘So it was a bit of a risk, together with the fact we sold our house quite quickly so were also homeless for nine months,’ stressed Jon, who’s living in a caravan on the site with his wife and their three dogs.
‘We had a lot of help from the Airfield Research Group to put together a heritage statement before we were given planning permission.’
RAF West Raynham was a vital base for Bomber Command during the last war and 86 aircraft were lost as warplanes attacked Hitler’s Germany night in night out
Flying stopped at the base in 1976 and it remained open as a missile-only station until 1994 when it was shut by the Ministry of Defence. Pictured left and right: Bloodhound missiles at the base
Mrs Booty, a supermarket worker, is a fan of the iconic pre-war art deco period and the control tower has many features from the era she is keen to restore.
But much more prosaically their first job was to reglaze and paint all 93 of the tower’s windows and fix the leaky roof to try and make it watertight.
Then it is onto the warren of rooms.
Climbing up over three floors with a panoramic glazed visual control room on the roof there is at least two years and about £250,000 worth of work ahead.
But the Bootys and their beloved pets are more than happy to take their time and make it their perfect for ever home for life.
The Visual Control Room at the roof of the former RAF Raynham Control Tower
Left: The A Centre, which was the control centre for the airfield lighting, at the former RAF Raynham Control Tower. Right: The vacuum pump for the messaging system, sending messages by vacuum along pipes
Mrs Booty said: ‘This journey is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life.
‘It is an incredible privilege to be given the opportunity to do this place up.’
RAF West Raynham was a vital base for Bomber Command during the last war and 86 aircraft were lost as warplanes attacked Hitler’s Germany night in night out.
Gloster Meteors were among cutting edge fighters stationed there during the Cold War as the Central Fighter Establishment was set up at West Raynham.
Flying stopped at the base in 1976 and it remained open as a missile-only station until 1994 when it was shut by the Ministry of Defence.
The site was sold in 2006 turned into a residential and business park.
RAF West Raynham has also been used over the years to film various TV shows and documentaries, including two-part mini-series Over Here, starring Martin Clunes, in 1996.