Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich

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Coordinates: 51°29′14″N 0°3′31″E / 51.48722°N 0.05861°E / 51.48722; 0.05861
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Royal Artillery Barracks
Woolwich
At 329m the south elevation constitutes the longest continuous architectural composition in London[1]
Royal Artillery Barracks is located in Greater London
Royal Artillery Barracks
Royal Artillery Barracks
Location within London
Coordinates51°29′14″N 0°3′31″E / 51.48722°N 0.05861°E / 51.48722; 0.05861
TypeBarracks
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1776–1802
Built forWar Office
In use1802-present
Garrison information
OccupantsRoyal Artillery (until 2007)

Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a

Larkhill Garrison.[3]

History

In 1716 two permanent field companies of

Royal Regiment of Artillery numbered over 2,400, over a third of whom were usually quartered in Woolwich.[4]
Having outgrown its barracks in the Warren, the regiment looked to establish itself in new quarters elsewhere in Woolwich.

18th-century establishment

Work on the new barracks began in 1774 on a site overlooking

officers' mess
to the east. Behind the three blocks was an open yard area and a row of kitchens, with a house for the barrack-master added beyond.

In 1793 the Royal Horse Artillery was formed, and a separate long barracks range was built for them to the north of (and parallel with) the original blocks; it was arranged (cavalry-style) with soldiers on the first floor and stables for the horses below.[4]

19th-century enlargement

The central gateway and parade ground

By the turn of the century the size of the Regiment had grown substantially and larger barracks were needed. To begin with, in 1801, the Horse Artillery barracks was expanded to form a quadrangle by the addition of a parallel range to the north, linked to it by officers' quarters at either end. Beyond this, in what became the north-east corner of the site, a

farriery attached. James Wyatt
was the architect for these works.

Then in 1802-5, the entire barracks was more than doubled in size by erecting something close to a

Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers (again with stables on the ground floor and soldiers' rooms above); these barracks ran along the full length of the northern edge of the site, up as far as the riding school. The south range of the barracks, facing on to the parade ground, was for the foot artillery. Between these and the quadrangles, a number of ancillary buildings and structures were provided, including a coal store, engineers' yard, canteen, stores and office buildings, as well as the barrack-master's house.[4]

For the south front, which faced on to the

stuccoed to match the central arch): behind the first he built offices for the regiment's senior officers, behind the next was a new officers' mess ('supposed to be the largest in England',[5] and later expanded in the 1840s); behind the third was the guard room (with a library and reading room added above), and behind the last a regimental chapel. The chapel was a large galleried space, with seating for close to 1,500 (later increased to almost 1,800 with the addition of an upper gallery in 1847). When a new garrison church
was built in the 1860s, the chapel within the barracks became redundant, so it was converted to become a theatre for the Royal Artillery Dramatic Society.

The barracks were for the most part completed by 1806; by then they already housed 3,210 officers and men, and 1,200 horses.

Field Artillery moved into the northern range of barracks and stables, leaving the still dismounted Garrison Artillery in the south range. Numbers fluctuated somewhat in the first half of the century: the size of the garrison was reduced during the years of relative peace after Waterloo (until in 1833 the barracks contained just 1,875 men and 419 horses); but it then began growing again. In the census of 1841, a total of 2,862 people were recorded as living in the barracks, of whom 759 were women or children (there being no officially-provided housing for married soldiers at that time). In the wake of the Crimean War
, with the army largely garrisoned at home, the barracks became notoriously overcrowded.

In 1851 work began (to a design by

scientific association, offering officers the opportunity to hear lectures on physics, chemistry, geology, artillery, military tactics and history.[6] The building included a horseshoe-shaped lecture theatre, a library, a laboratory, a museum, and facilities for drawing, sketching, printing, modelmaking and photography. An 'Advanced Course for Artillery Officers' was set up within the Institution in 1864: a two-year examined course of higher scientific study including courses in mathematics (including mechanics and hydrostatics), physics, chemistry, metallurgy, ‘the… steam engine, etc.,’, and Professional Subjects including Guns, Carriages, and Small Arms. Guest lecturers included John Percy in metallurgy, Thomas Minchin Goodeve in physics and practical mechanics, and C.L. Bloxam in Chemistry. [7] From 1871 the Department of Artillery Studies made use of the Institution's facilities to provide instruction for all newly-commissioned Artillery officers (with accommodation being provided in the adjacent south-east block of the barracks). In 1885 the Department (together with the Advanced Course) moved to the nearby Red Barracks and was renamed Artillery College
.

By the 1880s, the

Field Artillery (together with their horses) had been provided with separate barracks accommodation nearby: one brigade in the Hut Barracks, another in the Grand Depot & Engineer Barracks. The Garrison Artillery remained in the south range of the Artillery Barracks (where the District Staff R.A. were also accommodated). The Horse Artillery continued to occupy the two quadrangles. One of the northernmost blocks now housed a cavalry regiment.[8] In 1893-4 a Church of England Soldiers' Institute was built in the north-east corner of the site, providing a concert hall, library and reading room, music room, games rooms and other facilities.[4]

20th-century reconstruction

The theatre (the former chapel) burned down in 1903 and was rebuilt to a design by

mechanisation, the stables were converted into more rooms for soldiers. In 1939 troops were moved out of the barracks, which (along with other facilities in the Woolwich area) was vulnerable to air attack; but the following year it was filled again with evacuees from Dunkirk. Parts of the barracks were damaged during the Blitz
, the easternmost block of the south front being destroyed along with the Royal Artillery Institution (which had been inserted behind it in 1851-4).

After the war, the future of the barracks was kept under discussion. Finally, in 1956, the decision was taken that the Royal Artillery would retain it as their

listed buildings) were retained; those to the east and west were demolished in 1965, to make way for a gym and a computer centre, and three years later the north arch was lost to road widening (a plan that it would be dismantled and re-erected coming to nothing). The retained south range blocks were reconfigured internally, and a replica of the destroyed easternmost block was built.[4] In 1973 the barracks were designated as a Grade II* listed building.[9]

On 23 November 1981, the

bombing that injured five soldiers
.

21st century rebuilding and rundown

Main entrance on Repository Road

Since the nineteenth century, the appropriateness of Woolwich as a base for the Artillery had been questioned. Suggestions of a move came to nothing until a Defence Estates Review in 2003 proposed a move to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain (where the Royal School of Artillery has been based since 1915). After very nearly 300 years in Woolwich, the last Artillery regiment (the 16th) left the barracks in July 2007.[11] In 2008-11 the barracks were again largely rebuilt behind the south façade.

The place of the Artillery was taken by the

Foot Guards (who moved in from Chelsea Barracks and Cavalry Barracks). Soon afterwards, the Second Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was posted to Woolwich from Cyprus. In 2012, an artillery link was regained when the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, moved from the St John's Wood Barracks to a new headquarters on the Woolwich site, bringing with them a complement of 120 or thereabouts horses, historic gun carriages and artillery pieces used in their displays.[12] Following the departure of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, the First Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment moved in to the Barracks in 2014.[13]

On 24 May 2013 drummer Lee Rigby, of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers,[14] was murdered by Islamists just outside the Barracks in a terrorist attack. Lee was staying at the barracks.[15]

Planned closure

In November 2016 the

Greenwich Borough Council unanimously passed a motion to oppose the sale of the historic barracks;[18] by this time petitions to save the barracks had amassed over 9,000 signatures.[19]

Curtilage

Parade ground

The Crimean War Memorial in front of the parade ground.

In 1784, the land in front of the south range of the barracks was levelled and laid with gravel to form a parade ground. In 1862 a war memorial was 'erected by their comrades to the memory of the Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and Men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who fell during the Crimean War in the years 1854, 1855, 1856'. Designed by John Bell, the memorial is topped by a large bronze figure of Liberty distributing wreaths from a basket.[20]

For many years the 17.75-ton

siege of Bhurtpore, stood outside the barracks.[21][22] A set of four Florentine guns dating from the mid-18th century were likewise a fixture on the southern edge of the parade ground for many years.[23]
They were all removed to Larkhill in 2007, along with other historic cannons which had stood in front of the barracks.

In 2008, for the benefit of the public duties units moving to the barracks, the central part of the parade ground was extended so as to assume the same dimensions as Horse Guards Parade.[4]

Barrack Field

Main article: Barrack Field
Barrack Field with public access path

Barrack Field, to the south of the Parade Ground, originally formed part of the Bowater Estate (along with the plot on which the Barracks themselves were erected). Having acquired the land, the Board of Ordnance built a

Royal Artillery Cricket Club played on a cricket ground here (dating from the 18th century); and to the east there were tennis courts and football pitches at various times. During the First World War the Barrack Field was used as a mobilization camp with over 200 tents. During the Second World War part of it was turned into allotments.[24]

Gun Park

Firing of the 1 o'clock gun, Woolwich (RBL 40-pounder gun).

In 1803 the Board of Ordnance built a mortar

Shoeburyness
.

Immediately north of the mortar battery the Gun Park was laid out (later known as the Upper Gun Park): it was a drill ground for field-battery exercises, around which gun-carriage sheds were built to the north and west. Firing positions for six guns were also provided, immediately to the south of the mortar battery. These were used as a saluting battery; guns were fired from here daily at 1 p.m. and at 9.30 p.m. to announce 'the time of day [...] to the garrison and neighbourhood of Woolwich'.[27] It remained in use for gun salutes for much of the 20th century and, as reported in 1970, the 'firing of the 1 o'clock gun from the Greenhill Battery' continued to take place daily.[24] Later the guns were removed and placed in front of the Royal Military Academy; but their footings remain, along with several surviving carriage sheds and other buildings, around the edge of the former drill ground (which is now used as a car park).[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jones & Woodward, The Architecture of London, 1983 ff
  2. ^ "The Royal School of Artillery". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Royal Artillery". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The Survey of London: Woolwich (2012)
  5. ^ London Encyclopaedia; Or, Universal Dictionary of Science, Art, Literature and Practical Mechanics (Volume 22). London: Thomas Tegg. 1829. pp. 666–667.
  6. ^ "The Military Institutions and Boards of Examination of England". Colburn's United Service Magazine: 486–502. August 1872.
  7. ^ Whiston, J.H.R. "A Short History of the Military College of Science". Journal of the Military College of Science: 106–109.
  8. ^ Atkins, T. (1883). Army & Navy Calendar. London: W. H. Allen. p. 158.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Royal Artillery Barracks Main Building (1078918)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Terrorist Incidents (Hansard, 4 March 1996)".
  11. ^ "End of an era for historic barracks". News Shopper. 6 August 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  12. ^ King's Troop moves to its 'spiritual home' in Woolwich at BBC News, 7 February 2012. Accessed 8 February 2012
  13. ^ "Regular Army Basing Plan 5 Mar 13" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ "British Army units from 1945 on - Royal Regiment of Fusiliers". british-army-units1945on.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  15. ^ Woolwich attack: murdered soldier Drummer Lee Rigby 'would do anything for anybody’ - Telegraph
  16. ^ "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  17. ^ "MOD Confirms Changes To Base Closure Plans". Forces News. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Greenwich Council opposes MOD sale of Woolwich Barracks". News Shopper. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  19. ^ "King’s Troop to stay in Woolwich but rest of barracks to be sold".
  20. ^ "Memorial: Royal Artillery - Crimean War". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Obituary: Viscount Combermere". The Daily Telegraph. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  22. ^ Murray, John (1878). Handbook for England and Wales: Alphabetically Arranged for the Use of Travellers ... J. Murray. p. 486.
  23. ^ Lefroy, Brig.-Gen. J. H. (1864). Official Catalogue of the Museum of Artillery in the Rotunda, Woolwich. London: HMSO. pp. 26–27.
  24. ^ a b c Newsome, Sarah; Williams, Andrew. "Woolwich Common, Woolwich, Greater London: An Archaeological Survey of Woolwich Common and Its Environs". Historic England. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  25. ^ The Pictorial Guide to Woolwich. London: Wm S. Orr & Co. 1846. p. 18.
  26. ^ James, Charles (1811). The Regimental Companion (7th ed.). London: T. Egerton. p. 80.
  27. ^ "A Sparrow's Nest in a Gun-Carriage". The Family Friend: 161. 1885.

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