Stained glass window at Bentley Priory for Air Marshal Sir Raymund George Hart

Image: © Marathon Taken: 11 Apr 2022

The original Priory housed a cell of Augustinian Friars believed to be founded by Ranulf de Glanville in 1170. He was the first Englishman to be killed in the Crusades. The Priory was dissolved in the 1530s. After 1766, the house was built on higher ground to the north of the site of the original Priory. In the late 18th century, Sir John Soane was brought in to extend and refurbish the house. At the end of the 19th century it was converted into a hotel but this failed financially and from 1908 until 1924 the building was a girls' boarding school. From 1926 until 2008 it was owned by the Royal Air Force and during the Battle of Britain it was the headquarters of Fighter Command. The Air Chief Marshal, Sir Hugh Dowding, was based here as was the Operations Room. In 2013, Bentley Priory Museum was opened, focusing on Bentley Priory's pivotal role during the Battle of Britain and Sir Hugh Dowding, as well as many others. This window is one of a number in the entrance hall which commemorate this time. Air Marshal Sir Raymund George Hart was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and the post-war decade. Throughout this period, he was a specialist in military signals and a pioneer in the development of Radar. Sadly, Hart died on 16th July 1960 at his home at Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire, when he was electrocuted while connecting power to an electric lawn mower. For more information about him see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymund_Hart

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