Invicta Park Barracks
Invicta Park Barracks | |
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36 Engineer Regiment |
Invicta Park Barracks is a military installation in Maidstone, Kent. It is set to close in 2029.
History
Maidstone Barracks
Permanent barracks were first established in Maidstone as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution in 1797.[1] Maidstone Barracks was a major cavalry barracks at a stationing point between London and the Kent coast (along which several more cavalry barracks were established in the 1790s).[2] The barracks buildings were constructed of timber for speedy assembly, an approach taken at a number of other such establishments around the country hastily built (for both cavalry and infantry) at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars.[3]
At the time of its establishment, Maidstone Barracks served as the British Army's Cavalry Depot (for inducting and training new recruits). In 1832, the Cavalry Riding Establishment moved there from
By the 1830s, Maidstone was serving as the home depot for all cavalry regiments stationed in India (each of which would leave behind three officers and forty-one other ranks who would be responsible for recruiting).
In 1873, a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the barracks became the depot for the 50th (West Kent) Regiment of Foot and the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot.[8] Following the Childers Reforms, the 50th and 97th regiments amalgamated to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment with its depot in the barracks in 1881.[8]
By 1936, the old barracks had begun to fall into disrepair, and the regiment began to move to nearby Invicta Park; nevertheless the old barracks were retained by the Army, continuing in use until the 1990s.[9] Although the barracks blocks were demolished in 1991, the Officers’ Mess still survives as the White Rabbit Public House in Sandling Road.[10] Apart from the brick chimneys and slate roof, the building is entirely made of wood, and is the last remaining example of a type of building designed by the Barrack Department in the 1790s to be erected in a hurry, as required to house troops of cavalry or regiments of infantry ready for deployment.[2]
Invicta Park
An adjacent site, just a few hundred yards north, was acquired from the Lushington family in 1936 and shortly before the outset of the
The Regimental Headquarters,
Based units
The following units are based at Invicta Park Barracks:[11]
Future
In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the site would close in 2027,[16] this was later extended to 2029.[17]
References
- ^ "Parliamentary accounts and papers". UK Parliament. 23 July 1847. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ a b Douet, James (1998). British Barracks 1600-1914: their Architecture and Role in Society. London: The Stationery Office.
- ^ "The Colchester Archaeologist". Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ Dawson, Anthony (2016). Real War Horses: The Experience of the British Cavalry 1814 - 1914. Barnsley, S. Yorks.: Pen and Sword Books Ltd. pp. 14–15.
- ^ The Queen's Regulations. 1868. p. 120.
- ^ Strachan, Hew (1984). Wellington's Legacy: The Reform of the British Army, 1830-54. Manchester University Press. p. 214.
- ^ "Our Military Establishments". The Illustrated London News. XLVI (1296): 18. 7 January 1865.
- ^ a b "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Holden, Clive. "Fortress Maidstone" (PDF). kentarchaeology.org.uk. Kent Archaeological Society. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "The Barracks, Maistone". 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d "A History of 36 Engineer Regiment" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ^ a b Chaplin, Howard Douglas (1954). The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, 1920-1950. London: Michael Joseph.
- ^ "Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ^ "Notes on Amalgamation". Queen's Own Gazette. LXXVII (2): 26. February 1961.
- ^ "New Army Barracks at Invicta Park, Maidstone". Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ^ "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "Disposal database: House of Commons report". Retrieved 26 November 2021.