| Colewort Barracks | |
|---|---|
| Portsmouth | |
 Colewort Barracks | |
  Colewort Barracks Location within Hampshire | |
| Coordinates | 50°47′38″N1°06′12″W / 50.79375°N 1.10345°W Coordinates: 50°47′38″N1°06′12″W / 50.79375°N 1.10345°W |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1694 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1694-late 1920s |
Colewort Barracks was a military installation at Portsmouth, Hampshire. It was also known as St Mary's Barracks, having been built on land pertaining to the Conventual Church of St Mary Colewort. [1]
The facility originated as a garrison hospital, begun in October 1680 and built by contractor Sir Thomas Finch on behalf of the Board of Ordnance. It stood on what had been glebe land (the Vicar's Close) near Landport Gate, just within the town's fortifications. The building, of oak-framed brick construction, was 192 ft (59 m) in length and two storeys high, with a projecting three-storey bay in the middle; it had four wards, flanking the central administrative block, and is estimated to have had space for around forty patients. [2]
At the time Portsmouth was garrisoned by 12 Companies of Foot (numbering around a thousand officers and other ranks in total). Many of these soldiers were accommodated locally in temporary but purpose-built hutted lodgings, claimed to have been the first Army barracks in England (it is no longer clear where these long-since demolished huts would have stood). [3] Evidently, further accommodation was required and in 1694 the Garrison Hospital building was converted into a barracks. [4] In 1718 more buildings were added: a new barrack block and an armoury. The complex came to be known as Colewort Barracks, named after a type of wild cabbage which was prevalent in the local area. [5] The old hospital building was demolished in the late 1720s. [2]
In 1820 Colewort Barracks was described as 'a noble structure'. [6] It formed part of a military precinct within the fortifications: adjoining it were 'the Barracks of the Royal Artillery and the Waggon Train, with an extensive range of Stables'. [6] The adjacent garden (surviving from the time of St Mary's Convent) was now used as a burial ground, 'principally for the Military'. In 1827 an adjacent parcel of land was purchased by the government, [1] and the following year the barracks were considerably enlarged. [7] Later, the former Lieutenant-Governor's residence in St Thomas's Street (vacated in 1834) was converted to serve as Officers' Quarters for the Barracks. [8]
In an Army Medical Report of 1871 it was reported that plans were in hand to erect 'new and commodious barracks' on land made available by the removal of the old fortifications, and that these would 'replace the old and condemned "Clarence" and "Colewort" barracks'. [9] Nevertheless, in the late 1870s Colewort Barracks was still in use and now home to the Commissariat and Transport Corps; [10] its successor the Army Service Corps remained in the barracks and was responsible for supplies, transport and accommodation during the First World War. [11] After the war, the barracks fell into disrepair and were demolished to make way for an expansion to Portsmouth Power Station in the late 1920s. [12]
The barracks were described in the Chronicles of Portsmouth (1823) as:
The aforementioned 'cabbage garden', which gave the barracks its name, was still in use as a burial-ground in the early 19th century, long after the conventual chapel of St Mary had been demolished. [13]
Gosport is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite the city of Portsmouth, to which it is linked by the Gosport Ferry. Gosport lies south-east of Fareham, to which it is linked by a Bus Rapid Transit route and the A32. Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Gosport was a major naval town associated with the defence and supply infrastructure of Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth. As such over the years extensive fortifications were created.
Aldershot is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, 31 mi (50 km) southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,226, while the Aldershot Urban Area, a loose conurbation has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK.
Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was situated on the island of New Castle, New Hampshire, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River estuary. It was renamed Fort William and Mary circa 1692, after the accession of the monarchs William III and Mary II to the British throne. It was captured by Patriot forces, recaptured, and later abandoned by the British in the Revolutionary War. The fort was renamed Fort Constitution in 1808 following rebuilding. The fort was further rebuilt and expanded through 1899 and served actively through World War II.
Fort York is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of the Toronto Harbour. The fort features stone-lined earthwork walls and eight historical buildings within them, including two blockhouses. The fort forms a part of Fort York National Historic Site, a 16.6-hectare (41-acre) site that includes the fort, Garrison Common, military cemeteries, and a visitor centre.
The Western Heights of Dover are one of the most impressive fortifications in Britain. They comprise a series of forts, strong points and ditches, designed to protect the country from invasion. They were created in the 18th and 19th centuries to augment the existing defences and protect the key port of Dover from both seaward and landward attack; by the start of the 20th century Dover Western Heights was collectively reputed to be the 'strongest and most elaborate' fortification in the country. The Army finally withdrew from the Heights in 1956–61; they are now a local nature reserve.
Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word comes via French from an old Spanish word "barraca" (hut), originally referring to temporary shelters or huts for various people and animals, but today barracks are usually permanent buildings for military accommodation. The word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes, and the plural form often refers to a single structure and may be singular in construction.
Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy. Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is located on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour, north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight. Until the early 1970s, it was officially known as Portsmouth Royal Dockyard ; thereafter the term 'Naval Base' gained currency, acknowledging a greater focus on personnel and support elements alongside the traditional emphasis on building, repairing and maintaining ships. In 1984 Portsmouth's Royal Dockyard function was downgraded and it was formally renamed the 'Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation' (FMRO). The FMRO was privatized in 1998, and for a time, shipbuilding, in the form of block construction, returned. Around the year 2000, the designation HMS Nelson was extended to cover the entire base.
Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is also the name of a street on the east side of the common, as well as an electoral ward of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 17,499.
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.
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.
Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) west of the centre of Durrington village and 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about 10 mi (16 km) north of Salisbury.
Gun Club Hill Barracks are barracks in King's Park, or in Jordan, Hong Kong formerly used by British Army garrisons during British colonial rule. The military began using the area shortly after 1860 when the British acquired Kowloon. The barracks are bounded by Austin Road, Jordan Path, Gascoigne Road and Chatham Road South.
Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. Established in 1854, Aldershot is the home of the British Army. The garrison was established when the War Department bought a large area of land near the village of Aldershot, with the objective of establishing a permanent training camp for the Army. Over time, this camp grew into a military town and continues to be used by the Army to the present day. It is home to the headquarters of the Army's Regional Command, and it is also the administrative base for the 101st Logistic Brigade. The garrison plays host to around 70 military units and organisations.
Bordon and Longmoor Military Camps are British Army training camps close to the A3 and A325 roads in and around the settlements of Bordon, Longmoor, Liss and Liphook in Hampshire, England. The main street of the Longmoor part of the camp is built on an ancient Roman road, the Chichester to Silchester Way, while the village of Greatham lies to the west. The combined camp and training area coveres 1,783 hectares of wooded areas, heath, wetlands and hard standings. Longmoor camp and the training areas are still active, and maintained by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
Kissing Point Fortification is a heritage-listed fortification at 38-40 Howitt Street, North Ward, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Peter Scratchley and Major Edward Druitt and built from 1891 by A McMillan and then from 1939 to 1941. It is also known as Jezzine Barracks. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010.
Forton Barracks was a military installation near Gosport in Hampshire, which served first as an Army barracks and then as a divisional headquarters for the Royal Marines. It subsequently served as a Royal Navy training establishment. Today, the site is occupied by St Vincent College.
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.
Hilsea Barracks was a military installation at Hilsea in Portsmouth.
Clarence Barracks was a military installation at Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Milldam Barracks is a former a military installation at Portsmouth, Hampshire. The complex includes two Grade II listed buildings.