About Bentley Priory

Located within a Grade II* listed Mansion House in Stanmore, North West London, Bentley Priory Museum tells one of the most important narratives of modern history – how the Battle of Britain was won.

Bentley Priory was Headquarters Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, and the Museum explores how technology, leadership and courage forged victory, enabling Britain’s darkest hour to also be her finest hour.

The Museum highlights the contribution and importance of ‘The One‘, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, ‘The Few‘, the aircrew who took to the skies to defend  Britain, and ‘The Many‘, without whose tireless work on the ground victory would not have been possible.

The Museum also explores the wider history of Bentley Priory, before the Air Ministry bought it in 1926. Bentley Priory was once home to a hotel, a girls’ school, and John James Hamilton, the 1st Marquess of Abercorn, who commissioned architect Sir John Soane to add to Bentley Priory’s architectual splendour in the 1780s. Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV and aunt to Queen Victoria, also resided at Bentley Priory in 1849, the last year of her life.