| Church Street drill hall | |
|---|---|
| Brighton | |
 Church Street drill hall | |
  Church Street drill hall Location within Sussex | |
| Coordinates | 50°49′30″N0°08′31″W / 50.82492°N 0.14194°W Coordinates: 50°49′30″N0°08′31″W / 50.82492°N 0.14194°W |
| Type | Drill hall |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1890 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1890-1967 |
The Church Street drill hall is a former military installation in Brighton. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]
The building was designed by Edmund Scott as the headquarters of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment and was completed in 1890. [2] This unit evolved to become the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment but moved to Montpelier Place in Brighton before the First World War. [3]
Meanwhile, the Sussex Imperial Yeomanry had been located at the Church Street drill hall from their re-formation in 1901. [4] [5] The regiment was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to Gallipoli and, ultimately, to the Western Front. [6] After the First World War, the unit converted to artillery and was reduced to battery size, becoming 389 (Sussex Yeomanry) Battery, the 98th (Sussex Yeomanry) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. [4]
After the Second World War, the battery was reformed as P Battery, 344th (Sussex Yeomanry) Light Anti-Aircraft and Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery and then as P Battery, 258th (Sussex Yeomanry) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1955. [4] After the defence cut-backs of 1967, the drill hall was decommissioned and became a Royal Mail sorting office [1] and, more recently, it has been used as an antiques warehouse. [7]
The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as artillery in World War II. Its lineage is maintained by 36 Signal Squadron, part of 71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals.
The Norfolk Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry (Yeomanry) regiment of Britain's Territorial Army accepted onto the establishment of the British Army in 1794. After seeing action in the Second Boer War, it served dismounted at Gallipoli, in Palestine and on the Western Front during the First World War. Between the wars it converted to the Royal Artillery (TA), and served as an anti-tank regiment in France, the Western Desert, Italy and North West Europe during the Second World War. After the war it served as a TA air defence unit and then as an Army Air Corps unit.
The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial Army was greatly reduced. The regiment's name lives on in the title of the command and support squadron of the Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY), a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Lancashire Hussars was a British Army unit originally formed in 1798. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1969, the regiment reduced to a cadre and the Yeomanry lineage discontinued.
The South Nottinghamshire Hussars is a unit of the British Army formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794. Converted to artillery in 1922, it presently forms part of 103 Regiment, Royal Artillery.
The Denbighshire Hussars was a Welsh Yeomanry regiment of the British Army formed in 1794. It saw service in the First World War before being converted into a unit of the Royal Artillery. The lineage has been continued by 398 Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps.
The Sussex Yeomanry is a yeomanry regiment of the British Army dating from 1794. It was initially formed when there was a threat of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. After being reformed in the Second Boer War, it served in the First World War and the Second World War, when it served in the East African Campaign and the Siege of Tobruk. The lineage is maintained by 1 Field Troop, 579 Field Squadron (EOD), part of 101 (London) Engineer Regiment (Volunteers).
The Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army with its origins in 1798. The regiment provided troops for the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War and served on the Western Front in World War I, latterly as infantry. The regiment converted to artillery in 1920 and served as such in the early years of World War II, before becoming part of the Chindits in Burma. Postwar it served as a gunner regiment until 1971 when the title disappeared.
The Glamorgan Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army originally raised in the late eighteenth century as a result of concern over the threat of invasion by the French. It was re-raised in the Second Boer War and saw service in both World War I and World War II. The lineage is maintained by C Troop, 211 Battery, 104th Regiment Royal Artillery.
The Surrey Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army first formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794. It was reformed in 1901 and saw varied srvice in World War I. Postwar it was converted to artillery and during World War II one of its regiments distinguished itself defending the 'Canal Line' during the retreat to Dunkirk, later serving at Alamein, in Sicily and Italy. Its other regiment served in East Africa, the Siege of Tobruk, and in Iraq and Persia. The regiment's lineage is maintained today by 2 Field Troop, 579 Field Squadron (EOD), part of 101 (London) Engineer Regiment (Volunteers).
The West Princes Street drill hall is a former military installation in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Mitcham Road Barracks is an Army Reserve centre in Croydon, London, with a history dating back to 1794.
Stockport Armoury is a military installation in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
The St Paul's Street drill hall is a military installation in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Clare Street drill hall is a military installation in Northampton, Northamptonshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
Yeomanry House is a military installation in Hertford. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The King's Road drill hall, sometimes referred to as the Old Cavalry Barracks, is a former military installation in King's Road in Bury St Edmunds. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Kings Avenue drill hall, often referred to as Melbourne House, was a military establishment in Clapham.
The St Mary's Road drill hall is a former military installation in Southampton. It is a Grade II listed building.
The 1st Cinque Ports Rifle Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army first raised from the Cinque Ports of Kent and Sussex in 1859. It later became the 5th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. During the First World War, it served on the Western front as pioneers, seeing a great deal of action at Aubers Ridge, the Somme, Ypres, and in Italy. In the Second World War, both the battalion and its duplicate served in the Battle of France and were evacuated from Dunkirk. The 5th Battalion then fought at the Second Battle of El Alamein while its duplicate unit served as an anti-aircraft regiment in the campaign in North West Europe. Neither unit was reformed after the war.
