The de Havilland Aircraft Museum, formerly the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, is a volunteer-run aviation museum in London Colney, Hertfordshire, England. The collection is built around the definitive prototype and restoration shops for the de Havilland Mosquito and also includes several examples of the de Havilland Vampire – the third operational jet aircraft in the world. The museum is the largest such museum devoted to one manufacturer in the country. History Salisbury Hall The site has been occupied by a number of large manor houses since the 9th century. The present house was built around 1668 by the London banker James Hoare, bringing with it associations with Charles II and Nell Gwynne, who lived in a cottage by the bridge to the Hall. The Hall subsequently passed through various hands, and during the latter part of the 19th century was occupied by a succession of farmers. However, about 1905 Lady Randolph Churchill, as Mrs Cornwallis West, came here to live. Her son, Winston Churchill, became a regular visitor. During the 1930s, Sir Nigel Gresley, of the London and North Eastern Railway, was in residence. He was responsible for the A4 Pacific steam locomotives, one of which, Mallard, still holds the world speed record for steam locomotives of . It is believed that the locomotive was named after the ducks in the moat. In September 1939, the de Havilland Aircraft Company established the Mosquito design team in the Hall, the prototype Mosquito, E0234/W4050, subsequently being built in the adjacent buildings, to the side of Salisbury Hall. Which have since been demolished. After the acquisition of Airspeed Ltd by de Havilland Aircraft Company Airspeed Ltd assembled a design team, headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman. Tiltman's design efforts were initially carried out at the de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before relocating to Salisbury Hall, London Colney. The Airspeed building were behind Salisbury Hall and have since been demolished. Part of the site of the former Airspeed Ltd building was is now covered by the new Geoffrey de Havilland Hangar. Nell Gwynne's cottage, meanwhile, was the centre of a silk worm farm, which supplied the silk for the Queen's wedding and Coronation robes. After de Havilland left in 1947 the Hall slipped into a derelict condition. When Walter Goldsmith, a retired army major, purchased Salisbury Hall, he soon came to realise that it had been used by de Havilland during