The Barracks, Brecon

The Barracks, Watton is a military installation in Brecon in Wales.

For The Barracks in Kingston upon Thames, see The Barracks, Kingston upon Thames.
The Barracks, Brecon
Brecon
The Barracks, Brecon
The Barracks, Brecon
Location within Powys
Coordinates51°56′40″N 03°23′02″W
TypeBarracks
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1805-1813
Built forWar Office
In use1813-Present
Garrison information
Occupants160th (Wales) Brigade

History

The original barracks, which were constructed of red brick, were built at the Watton in 1805 and then extended in 1813.[1]

In 1873, as part of the Cardwell Reforms (which encouraged the localisation of British military forces),[2] the barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot, which began recruiting throughout South Wales. In the mid-1870s, troops from the barracks were despatched to the Cape Colony. During January 1879, the 24th Regiment became famed for its role at two momentous battles of the Anglo-Zulu War – Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift.[3] That same year, a keep, for the storage of arms and ammunition, was added to the barracks.[1]

Following the Childers Reforms, on 1 July 1881, the 24th Regiment was renamed the South Wales Borderers.[4][5]

The South Wales Borderers Museum, now the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh, opened at the barracks in 1935.[6] The barracks were designated as a Regional Seat of Government in the Cold War.[7]

Headquarters Wales was established at the barracks in 1972.[8] In 1991, the first of the minor districts to be amalgamated were North West District, the former West Midlands District (by then Western District) and Wales, to form a new Wales and Western District.[9] The enlarged district was disbanded on the formation of HQ Land Command in 1995.[10]

The barracks are now the home of 160th (Wales) Brigade.[11] In November 2016 the Ministry of Defence announced that the site would close in 2027.[12]

References
  1. Tones, p. 126
  2. "Echoes of the past in these Army cuts". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  3. "Brecon campaign to buy Rorke's Drift Victoria Crosses' museum". BBC. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  4. "The Keep at Brecon Barracks". Powys History. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  5. "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  6. "The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh". Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  7. "Civil Defence Project". Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  8. Paxton, J. (1972). The Statesman's Year-Book 1972-73: The Encyclopaedia for the Businessman-of-The-World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-230-27101-2.
  9. Beevor, Antony (1991). Inside the British Army. Transworld Publishers. p. 232. ISBN 978-0552138185.
  10. "Land Command Shapes Up", Jane's Defence Weekly, 15 July 1995.
  11. "Summary of Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) implementation measures within Wales" (PDF). Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  12. "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

Sources
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