Stonehouse Barracks

Stonehouse Barracks is a military installation at Stonehouse, Plymouth. It is the home of 3 Commando Brigade and referred to by commandos as 'the spiritual home of the Royal Marines'. HistorySince the Corps' foundation in 1664, Marines have been quartered in Plymouth. Following their formation into three divisions in 1775, His Majesty's Marine Forces became the first corps in Britain to be fully accommodated in their own barracks, which were established in the three divisional towns of Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth; Stonehouse is the only one of these to have survived. The earliest parts of Stonehouse Barracks date from 1756, but the main phase of construction was undertaken between 1779 and 1785 by James Templer and Thomas Parlby, with later additions in the 19th century. The barrack range on the east side of the parade ground, together with short officers' blocks to the north and south, formed the core of the original 1780s barracks complex; it is said to be one of the earliest surviving barracks for a large unit of men in England. The south range was extended, and the north entirely rebuilt, as part of the expansion of the barracks in the 1860s. The archway block on Durnford Street, which closes off the eighteenth-century quadrangle, also dates from this period (1867-71); the range consists of a series of officers' houses and administrative offices with a chapel (originally a schoolroom) above the central entrance arch. A rare survival from the 1830s is a former racquet court, which was later converted into a theatre.

Stonehouse Barracks is a military installation at Stonehouse, Plymouth. It is the home of 3 Commando Brigade and referred to by commandos as 'the spiritual home of the Royal Marines'. HistorySince the Corps' foundation in 1664, Marines have been quartered in Plymouth. Following their formation into three divisions in 1775, His Majesty's Marine Forces became the first corps in Britain to be fully accommodated in their own barracks, which were established in the three divisional towns of Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth; Stonehouse is the only one of these to have survived. The earliest parts of Stonehouse Barracks date from 1756, but the main phase of construction was undertaken between 1779 and 1785 by James Templer and Thomas Parlby, with later additions in the 19th century. The barrack range on the east side of the parade ground, together with short officers' blocks to the north and south, formed the core of the original 1780s barracks complex; it is said to be one of the earliest surviving barracks for a large unit of men in England. The south range was extended, and the north entirely rebuilt, as part of the expansion of the barracks in the 1860s. The archway block on Durnford Street, which closes off the eighteenth-century quadrangle, also dates from this period (1867-71); the range consists of a series of officers' houses and administrative offices with a chapel (originally a schoolroom) above the central entrance arch. A rare survival from the 1830s is a former racquet court, which was later converted into a theatre.