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Stonehouse Barracks: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:18, 22 November 2017

Stonehouse Barracks
Plymouth
Stonehouse Barracks
Stonehouse Barracks Location within Devon
Coordinates	50°22′02″N 4°09′45″W / 50.36713°N 4.16238°W / 50.36713; -4.16238
Type	Royal Marines Base
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Navy
Site history
Built	1756
Built for	Admiralty
In use	1756-Present
Garrison information
Occupants	3 Commando Brigade

Stonehouse Barracks is a military installation at Stonehouse, Plymouth. It is the home of 3 Commando Brigade and referred to by commandos as 'the spiritual home of the Royal Marines'.^[1]

History

Since the Corps' foundation in 1664, Marines have been quartered in Plymouth. Following their formation into three divisions in 1775, His Majesty's Marine Forces became the first corps in Britain to be fully accommodated in their own barracks, which were established in the three divisional towns of Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth; Stonehouse is the only one of these to have survived.^[1]

The earliest parts of Stonehouse Barracks date from 1756, but the main phase of construction was undertaken between 1779 and 1785 by James Templer and Thomas Parlby,^[2] with later additions in the 19th century.^[3] The barrack range on the east side of the parade ground, together with short officers' blocks to the north and south, formed the core of the original 1780s barracks complex; it is said to be one of the earliest surviving barracks for a large unit of men in England.^[4] The south range was extended, and the north entirely rebuilt, as part of the expansion of the barracks in the 1860s. The archway block on Durnford Street, which closes off the eighteenth-century quadrangle, also dates from this period (1867-71); the range consists of a series of officers' houses and administrative offices with a chapel (originally a schoolroom) above the central entrance arch.^[5] A rare survival from the 1830s is a former racquet court, which was later converted into a theatre.^[6]

At a short distance from the main quadrangle stands the building known as the Longroom, built in 1760 as Assembly Rooms and purchased from the town council in 1805 to serve as an officers' mess; it later served as a school and an infirmary, and is currently a gymnasium.^[7]

The barracks were known in the early 19th century as Mill Bay Barracks.^[8] As a whole, Stonehouse is described as "the oldest and most important group of barracks in England not forming part of a fortification, a very rare example of C18 planning, and a complex of great historic value".^[5]

The divisional structure of the Royal Marines (with divisions based at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth) was dismantled during the Second World War although elements of 41 Commando remained at the barracks after the war.^[9] In 1961 the barracks became the home of 43 Commando,^[10] a unit which disbanded in 1967,^[10] but the barracks accommodated 45 Commando until it moved to RM Condor in 1971.^[11] In that year, the barracks became the headquarters of 3 Commando Brigade^[12] and the barracks remain in current use as the headquarters of the brigade.^[13]

Future

In September 2016 the Ministry of Defence announced that Stonehouse Barracks were to be sold off.^[14] A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicates that the site will be disposed of by 2023.^[15]

Cadets

RM Stonehouse also accommodates the Plymouth Division of the Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps, since their formation in 1904. The VCC currently has over 100 cadets and is open to boys and girls aged 9 to 16 (who can serve until aged 18) from the Plymouth and south Devon area.^[16]

Gallery

• 
  North-west corner of the north barracks block (part of the 1860s expansion of the site by Col. Godfrey Greene).^[17]
• 
  North barracks block, built c.1860; replaced the original 1780s north block.
• 
  Block built as part of the new west front (1867-71) to house 24 subalterns. In the background part of the east barrack block (1783).^[18]
• 
  Part of the west front (1867-71 by Col. Godfrey Greene) including main entrance and houses for senior officers.^[19]

References