Le Marchant Barracks

Le Marchant Barracks
Devizes

Le Marchant Barracks
Le Marchant Barracks
Location within Wiltshire
Coordinates 51°21′42″N 01°58′27″W / 51.36167°N 1.97417°W / 51.36167; -1.97417Coordinates: 51°21′42″N 01°58′27″W / 51.36167°N 1.97417°W / 51.36167; -1.97417
Type Barracks
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator  British Army
Site history
Built 1878
Built for War Office
In use 1878-1967
Garrison information
Occupants Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's)

Le Marchant Barracks is a former military installation in Devizes, Wiltshire, England.

History

The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival style and named after Sir John Gaspard Le Marchant in 1878.[1] Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces.[2] The barracks became the depot for the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot.[3] Following the Childers Reforms, the 62nd and 99th Regiments amalgamated to form the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) with its depot in the barracks in 1881.[3]

During the First World War 5,000 soldiers were processed there and over 3,000 reservists were called up there.[1] Between the Wars the barracks were the local infantry training centre and during the Second World War the barracks became a Prisoner of war camp.[1] The barracks remained the home of the Wiltshire Regiment until 1959 after which time they were used as a secondary location by the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment until about 1967.[4]

Part of the site was still used as a Territorial Army Centre for the 1st Battalion the Wessex Regiment (Rifle Volunteers) after the main barracks closed.[1] The keep was sold by the Ministry of Defence in the 1980s and was subsequently used as a warehouse.[5] It was sold again in 2012 and converted for residential use in 2013.[6]

The keep and gatehouse are Grade II listed.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Le Marchant Barracks". Devizes Heritage. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Echoes of the past in these Army cuts". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Gatehouse to Le Marchant Barracks". Images of England. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Keep, London Road, Devizes". Country Life. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Take peek at converted Keep in Devizes". This is Wiltshire. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Keep, wall and gateway, Le Marchant Barracks (1243314)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Historic England. "Gatehouse to Le Marchant Barracks (1271946)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
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