About this museum
Stow Maries is the ghost that got a second chance: a 1916 Royal Flying Corps home-defence aerodrome — scrambled against Gotha raids on London — abandoned so completely it was never modernised, leaving Europe's largest surviving group of WWI aerodrome buildings. Restoration is ongoing, the grass field is live again, and WWI replicas fly from it. Standing on the empty airfield at dusk is the closest Britain gets to 1917.
The aerodrome itself: 24 listed RFC buildings, plus flying examples of Great War types on event days (a Fairey Swordfish cameo got special mention in reviews).
- Flying WWI replicas on event days
- The aerodrome itself — 24 listed 1916 RFC buildings
£12ish entry, free volunteer tours, exceptional mess-hall catering by museum standards. Exposed and windswept — dress like aircrew.
“Fantastic site with enthusiastic volunteers that give free tours of the site.”— A340, visitor report
Airframe checklist
Tick them off as you go. Identities are as held in the gazetteer survey — verify against the museum’s own labels if something has moved.
| Type | Identity | |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 replica | — |
Inventory researched 2026-07-18: source 1. Aircraft move between sites; report corrections to the compiler.
Location & contact
- Address
- Hackmans Ln, Chelmsford CM3 6RJ
- Website
- www.stowmaries.org.uk/
- Hours
- Fri–Sun 10am–4pm
(from your local clock — verify before travel) - Gazetteer
- EA-03 on the situation map