Corydon Airport

Corydon Airport is in south London on the limits of the London Boroughs of Corydon and Sutton. It was once the main airport for London, before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport.

It originated as two adjacent World War I airfields. Bedding ton Aerodrome, one of a number of small airfields around London which had been created for security against the Zeppelin raids in about May 1915, and Wad don Aerodrome of 1918, a test-flight aerodrome adjoining National Aircraft Factory No1.

At the end of that war, the two airfields were mutual into London's official airport as the gateway for all worldwide flights to and from the capital. Corydon Aerodrome opened on 29 March 1920.

It stimulated a growth in regular scheduled flights transport passengers, mail and freight, the first destinations being Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In 1923 Berlin flights were added. It was the operating base for Imperial Airways - remembered in the road name imposing Way on the site today.

In the mid 1920s, the airfield was extended, some adjacent roads being permanently closed to allow heavier airliners to land and depart safely. A new complex of buildings was constructed adjoining Purley Way, including the first purpose-designed air terminal in the world, the Aerodrome Hotel and extensive hangars, all opening on 2 May 1928.

The terminal building, the booking hall within it with its gallery balustraded in the geometrical design typical of the period, and the Aerodrome hotel were all built in the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s. A further item that caught the eye of visitor and traveller alike was the time zone tower in the booking hall with its dials depicting the times in different parts of the world.