The Oxford University Blowdown Tunnel has been substantially modified to test a large annular cascade of high pressure nozzle guide vanes (mean blade diameter of 1.11 m and axial chord of 0.0673 m). The new transonic facility has been constructed to obtain complete contours of heat transfer coefficient for both the end walls and blade surfaces using the transient liquid crystal technique, to measure pressure distributions and losses, and to study fundamental aspects of boundary layers and secondary flows. The facility allows an independent variation of Reynolds and Mach numbers, providing aerodynamic and heat transfer measurements in the region of interest for gas turbine design. The mass flow rate through the cascade at NGV design conditions (exit Mach number 0.96 and Reynolds number 2.0 × 106) is 38 kg/s and the pressure-regulated test duration exceeds 7 seconds.