Peninsula Barracks

For Peninsula Barracks in Warrington, see Peninsula Barracks, Warrington.

For The Lower Barracks in Winchester, see Lower Barracks.

Peninsula Barracks
Winchester
Peninsula Barracks
Peninsula Barracks Location within Winchester
Coordinates	51°03′43″N 01°19′16″W
Type	Barracks
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	British Army
Site history
Built	Early 20th century
Built for	War Office
In use	Early 20th century–1985

The Peninsula Barracks are a group of military buildings in Winchester, Hampshire.

History

The barracks, which were originally known as the Upper Barracks, Winchester, were built in the early 20th century on the site of King's House, an unfinished palace designed by Sir Christopher Wren for Charles II, which had been used for barracks from 1794 until it was destroyed by fire in 1894.[1][2] Some parts of the barracks remain Grade II listed buildings in their own right including the Green Jackets Headquarters and the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum, the Gymnasium, the Main Entrance Gate Piers, the Gates and Flanking Railings and Piers, the Royal Hussars Museum (former Militia Stores), the East Block, the Guardroom, the Chapel and Schoolroom, the Mons Block, the North Block, the Weapons Training Shed and the West Block.[2][3] The barracks became the depot of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade in 1858.[4]

The barracks went on to become the regional centre for infantry training as the Green Jackets Brigade Depot in 1960.[5] The name of the barracks was changed from Upper Barracks, Winchester to Peninsula Barracks in 1964.[4] The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) returned to the barracks on 21 April 1964, from Bushfield Camp, near Winchester, where they had moved in 1961.[6] On 22 May 1964, General Sir Gerald Lathbury, Colonel Commandant of the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and also Quartermaster-General to the Forces, whose responsibilities included all Army buildings, took the first passing-out parade in the rebuilt barracks.[6] Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Colonel-in-Chief, 3rd Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade, officially opened the new barracks on 28 May 1965.[7] The barracks closed in 1985 and military training was moved to Sir John Moore Barracks.[4]

In 1994 the Ministry of Defence sold most of the barracks for private flats, retaining some space for Winchester's Military Museums, a complex of museums that are grouped but operated separately.[8] The barracks also house the Regimental Headquarters of The Rifles,[9] and the Regimental Headquarters (South) of the King's Royal Hussars.[10]

References

1. "Peninsular Barracks – Winchester – Hampshire – England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
2. Michael Bullen, John Crook, Rodney Hubbuck & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Hampshire: Winchester and the North, London: Yale University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-300-12084-4, pp. 84, 691–2.
3. "Listed Buildings in Winchester, Hampshire, England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
4. "History of Peninsula Barracks" (PDF). Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
5. "Infantry Brigade Depots (Location)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 7 March 1958. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
6. The Gorget 1964, p. 11
7. "The Green Jacket Brigade depot". Royal Green Jackets Association. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
8. "Light Infantry Museum". Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
9. "Peninsula Barracks - Winchester's Military Quarter". Retrieved 24 February 2021.
10. "Contact - The King's Royal Hussars". Retrieved 24 February 2021.