Military Wiki
Advertisement
Preston Barracks
Brighton
Preston Barracks, Lewes Road, Brighton
Former Officers' Mess, Preston Barracks, Lewes Road, Brighton
Preston Barracks is located in East Sussex<div style="position: absolute; top: Expression error: Missing operand for *.%; left: 23.5%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">
Red pog
Preston Barracks
Location within East Sussex
Coordinates 50°50′32″N 0°07′17″W / 50.84220°N 0.12134°W / 50.84220; -0.12134Coordinates: 50°50′32″N 0°07′17″W / 50.84220°N 0.12134°W / 50.84220; -0.12134
Type Barracks
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator Flag of the British Army British Army
Site history
Built 1793
Built for War Office
In use 1793-Present

Preston Barracks was a military installation in Lewes Road, Preston, Brighton.

History[]

The barracks were built in the regency style as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution and were completed in 1793.[1] The barracks were designed to accommodate artillery and cavalry units and included stables for up to 1,000 horses.[1] The structures included a building originally built as a canteen but which was converted into a military hospital in 1820: it went on to be used as a location for various military meetings, including court-martials, chaired by Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl of Cardigan, who commanded the 11th Light Dragoons at the barracks in the 1840s and who then commanded the light brigade at the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War.[1] This structure later became known as the Crimean War Building.[1]

Married quarters were added in the 1850s and a new officers' mess was built in around 1900.[1] The original regency barracks, at the southern end of the site, were largely demolished in 1990 and that part of the site is now occupied by the Pavilion Retail Park.[1]

The northern end of the site was used as a Territorial Army Centre until around 2000; it is now however largely derelict: the Crimean War Building survives and remains in Ministry of Defence ownership for use as an Army Cadet Force Centre.[2] The officers' mess is also still standing but is empty.[3]

The northern end of the site was acquired by Brighton and Hove City Council in 2002: there are plans to develop this part of the site for the University of Brighton’s Business School.[4]

References[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Preston Barracks and the edit history here.
Advertisement