Royal Artillery Barracks

Royal Artillery Barracks
Woolwich
At 329m the south elevation constitutes the longest continuous architectural composition in London
Royal Artillery Barracks Location within London
Coordinates	Coordinates: 51°29′14″N 0°3′31″E / 51.48722°N 0.05861°E / 51.48722; 0.05861
Type	Barracks
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	British Army
Site history
Built	1776–1802
Built for	War Office
In use	1802-present
Garrison information
Occupants	King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery

The Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, was the home of the Royal Artillery from 1776 until 2007.

The Barracks were built between 1776 and 1802 on a site overlooking Woolwich Common to accommodate the nascent Royal Artillery, which was fast outgrowing its barracks in the Warren. As originally built (1774-6) the barracks frontage was only half the present length, being the eastern half of the current south elevation, with the pediment and clock positioned centrally. Twenty-five years later, when further expansion was required, it was resolved to double the frontage by building an identical façade to the west, with a wind-dial in place of the clock. The architect James Wyatt then married the two halves together with a centerpiece triumphal arch.

Behind the south frontage the barracks were laid out on a grid pattern, and included soldiers' accommodation, officers' quarters, the officers' mess, a chapel and a library with ancillary buildings further behind along with stores and stables for the horse artillery. Several of these buildings were altered over time or entirely replaced in a number of refurbishment programmes; Wyatt's officers' mess remains in situ. In 1973 the barracks were designated as a Grade II* listed building.

For many years the 17.75-ton Bhurtpore gun, captured by Lord Combermere after the 1826 siege of Bhurtpore, stood outside the barracks. To the south, Barrack Field is a cricket ground which has been in use since the mid 18th century.

Since the nineteenth century, the appropriateness of Woolwich as a base for the Artillery had been questioned. Suggestions of a move came to nothing until a Defence Estates Review in 2003 proposed a move to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain (where the Royal School of Artillery has been based since 1915). After very nearly 300 years in Woolwich, the last Artillery regiment (the 16th) left the barracks in July 2007. Two stained glass windows from the regimental chapel – one by Christopher Whall, an Arts & Crafts artist – were moved to St Alban's church at Larkhill, where they are displayed in lightboxes.