St Mary's Road drill hall, Southampton

The St Mary's Road drill hall is a former military installation in Southampton. It is a Grade II listed building.

History
The building was designed by W H Mitchell as the headquarters of the 1st Hampshire Artillery Volunteers and completed in 1889. It was an initiative of Colonel Edward Bance, former Mayor of Southampton, and was opened by Edward Stanhope, Secretary of State for War, in 1890. With the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908, the drill hall became the home of the Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery in 1908; the battery was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the middle east.

After the First World War, the unit amalgamated with the Hampshire Yeomanry and evolved to become 378 (Hampshire RHA) Battery with its base in Southampton. It was renamed 218 (Hampshire RHA) Battery in 1937 and served as part of 72nd (Hampshire) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery during the Second World War but was placed in suspended animation after that war. The drill hall was then decommissioned and converted for leisure use in 1974.