Podington
Timeline
Places > Podington
12th century: There was a church on the site in the early 12th century. In about 1190 the church had a south arcade of three bays built with further additions in the 13th century including a spire.
c1710: Around this date the Old Vicarage was built by Richard Orlebar.
1765: Podington Enclosure Act.
1806: Extensive repairs carried out on church steeple.
1841: The Orlebar family gave land for a school building and organised a public collection for funds to built it. The school was opened on the 29th September by. R.L. Orlebar.
1852: Village cricket club formed.
1895: First meeting of parish council held on 7th January in the school.
1902: Wesleyan Chapel opened on the 10th October.
1919: Mrs Faith Orlebar started a branch of the Women's Institute. In 1925 they purchased part of the allotment field and erected the WI Hut. This was in use until at least the mid 1950s.
1939: Evacuees arrived from Walthamstow and the school had to operate a double shift system to accommodate everyone.
1942: Podington Airfield opened in August. The airfield was one of the first airfields in England fully occupied by the Americans and accommodated a larger assortment of units than most, although it was mainly the airfield of the Eighth Air Force heavy bombers. The airfield closed in 1946.
1944: On the afternoon of the 23rd August Major Glenn Miller and his band gave an open air concert to 2,500 airmen at Podington airfield.
1968: Permission was given to use the airfield as a drag racing complex. The track was named Santa Pod after the Santa Ana strip in America. Part of one of the original runways was used as the racing track. The two wartime T2 hangers have survived and are used as workshops. The old control tower is one of the few to have been converted into a private house.
Page last updated: 3rd February 2014