Brock Barracks

Last updated

Brock Barracks
Reading, England
Brock Barracks - geograph.org.uk - 1048639.jpg
Brock Barracks Keep
Location map United Kingdom Reading.png
Red pog.svg
Brock Barracks
Location within Reading
Coordinates 51°27′29″N01°00′12″W / 51.45806°N 1.00333°W / 51.45806; -1.00333 Coordinates: 51°27′29″N01°00′12″W / 51.45806°N 1.00333°W / 51.45806; -1.00333
TypeHeadquarters building
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
OperatorFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Site history
Built1881
In use1881–present
Garrison information
Garrison7th Battalion The Rifles

Brock Barracks is a British Army barracks in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Located on Oxford Road in the district of West Reading. The majority of the buildings and structures within Brock Barracks are Grade II listed. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

History

The barracks, which were named after Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, [8] were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and completed in 1881. [9] Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces. [10] The barracks became the depot for the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot and the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot. [11] Following the Childers Reforms, the 49th and 66th regiments amalgamated to form the Royal Berkshire Regiment with its depot in the barracks later that year. [11]

During the Second World War the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment of 101st Airborne of the United States Army were based at the barracks in preparation for the Normandy landings. [12] The barracks ceased to be the home of the Royal Berkshire Regiment when that regiment merged with the Wiltshire Regiment to form the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment at Albany Barracks on the Isle of Wight in 1959. [13] The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment retained their administrative headquarters at Brock Barracks until they moved to Cathedral Close in Salisbury in 1982. [14]

The barracks continued in use as a Territorial Army base with D Company (Berkshire), Wessex Volunteers using the base from 1967: this unit evolved as D Company, the Wessex Regiment in 1972, [15] the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Company, the Royal Rifle Volunteers in 1999 [15] and HQ Company, 7th Battalion The Rifles in 2007. [16]

The Keep

On 12 May 1980 the Secretary of State for Defence sold the Keep, the Gatehouse and the original Gateway to Brock Barracks to Reading Borough Council. Since then Brock Keep has provided artists studios and exhibition space, and is currently occupied by OpenHand OpenSpace. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment</span> Military unit

The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolwich Garrison</span> Garrison in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London, England

Woolwich Garrison is a garrison or station of the British Army. Geographically it is in Woolwich, in the London Borough of Greenwich. In terms of command, it is within the Army's London District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow</span>

Cavalry Barracks is a former British Army installation located north of Hounslow Heath in Hounslow, west London. Hounslow was one of 40 new barracks established around the country in the wake of the French Revolution, to guard against the dual threats of foreign invasion and domestic sedition. The barracks later became a busy depot for the London military district. The barracks have been described by Historic England as 'one of the most significant and complete barracks in the country'; as of June 2021 the site is scheduled to be developed as a sustainable living project by Hounslow Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redford Barracks</span>

Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks is located on Colinton Road, near the Edinburgh City Bypass, east of the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1995. Initially consisting of a singular battalion, the regiment was later expanded to also have a second.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Keep, Dorchester</span>

The Keep, Dorchester is part of the former county barracks of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot. The barracks were built in about 1880 and housed various regiments as units were amalgamated. It ceased to be used in 1958 and most of the site was redeveloped in the 1960s, but the keep remained in Ministry of Defence hands and is now used as a regimental museum.

The Wessex Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of the Wessex area of south and south west England.

The Royal Berkshire Militia was an auxiliary military regiment in the county of Berkshire in Southern England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands, in 1572 and their service during the Armada Crisis and in the English Civil War, the Militia of Berkshire served during times of international tension and all of Britain's major wars. The regiment provided internal security and home defence but sometimes operated further afield, relieving regular troops from routine garrison duties and acting as a source of trained officers and men for the Regular Army. It later became a battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, and prepared thousands of reinforcements for the fighting battalions of the regiment in World War I. After 1921 the militia had only a shadowy existence until its final abolition in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regimental depot</span> Home base of a regiment

The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital before returning to full duty. Normally, a variety of regimental stores will also be kept at the depot. The regimental depot is not the same as the regimental headquarters, though in practice the two will often be co-located in the same place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Barracks</span> Barracks in Aberdeen, Scotland

Gordon Barracks is a military installation situated in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenham Barracks</span> Military installation in Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Fenham Barracks is a military installation in Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyvern Barracks</span>

Wyvern Barracks is a military installation on Topsham Road in Exeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Marchant Barracks</span>

Le Marchant Barracks is a former military installation in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The site is within the town's built-up area but within Bishops Cannings parish, on London Road about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of the centre of the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowley Barracks</span>

Cowley Barracks was a military installation in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inglis Barracks</span> Military installation in London

Inglis Barracks was a military installation in Mill Hill, London, NW7. It was also referred to as Mill Hill Barracks. The site has been redeveloped and now contains a variety of modern housing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Marine Depot, Deal</span>

The Royal Marine Depot, Deal was a military installation occupied by the Royal Marines and located in South Deal, Kent, on the road to Walmer. The Depot was first established in Deal in 1861, occupying part of the Royal Naval Hospital. In 1868 the Depot expanded and took over the nearby 18th-century Army barracks.

The Royal Berkshire Regiment War Memorial or Royal Berkshire Regiment Cenotaph is a First World War memorial dedicated to members of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and located in Brock Barracks in Reading, Berkshire, in south-east England. Unveiled in 1921, the memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, based on his design for the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, and is today a grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum</span> Military Museum in Salisbury, England

The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum is a military museum at The Close in Salisbury, England. It is housed in a Grade II* listed building known as The Wardrobe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich</span> Barracks in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London, England

Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison.

References

  1. ↑ Historic England, "Former Married Quarters, Brock Barracks (1375594)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  2. ↑ Historic England, "Former Sergeants Quarters, Brock Barracks (1375595)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  3. ↑ Historic England, "Officers Quarters and Mess, Brock Barracks (1375596)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  4. ↑ Historic England, "Former Hospital, Brock Barracks (1375593)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  5. ↑ Historic England, "Tofrek Barrack, Brock Barracks (1375597)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  6. ↑ Historic England, "Anson Barrack, Brock Barracks (1375592)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  7. ↑ Historic England, "Keep and Attached Walls and Gateway, Brock Barracks (1156392)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 4 February 2018
  8. ↑ "Brock Barracks". Notes and Queries. 170: 1011. 1936.
  9. ↑ Phillips, Daphne (1980). The Story of Reading. Countryside Books. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-905392-07-3.
  10. ↑ "Echoes of the past in these Army cuts". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  11. 1 2 "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)
  12. ↑ "Revealing Reading'sWartime History: Part 3". Reading Museum. p. 17. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Museum history". The Wardrobe. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Royal Berkshire Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Brock Barracks Reading". 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "OpenHand OpenSpace" . Retrieved 14 November 2019.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Brock Barracks at Wikimedia Commons


Flag of the United Kingdom.svg

This United Kingdom military article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.