Somme Barracks, Sheffield is a military establishment on Glossop Road in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England. The building is owned by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and serves as the base of the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

, which has been a part of the

Yorkshire Officers' Training Regiment Yorkshire Officers’ Training Regiment (YOTR) is a British Army Reserve regiment of the Officers' Training Corps based in Yorkshire, Northern England. YOTR is part of the Army Reserve and is one of the largest regiments of the Officers' Trai ...

since 2011. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The present building was opened in 1907. A military presence had existed on the site since 1882 when the 1st West York Royal Engineer Volunteers moved from their previous headquarters at John Street in the suburb of Highfield into a large house with adjoining piece of land at the corner of Glossop Road and Gell Street. The house was used to accommodate the

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted rank ...

while a

drill hall A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practise and perform military drills. Description In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, ...

was built on the spare land. The new headquarters were soon found to be too small and a decision was taken to build larger premises on the same site. On 11 July 1906 an appeal was launched by the Corps Commander Lieutenant Colonel Edward Tozer to help finance the new building. The new building was designed by the Corps

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

Alfred Ernest Turnell who was a practising

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

with offices at Foster's Buildings in

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

. The land was purchased for £3,000 while the building itself cost £6,500. A temporary headquarters was set up in nearby Victoria Street while the new building was being constructed. The new facility provided offices for the Commanding Officer and Adjutant, a large armoury, an armoury Sergeant's workshop, a surgery, an orderly room, a lecture room, a canteen and waiting rooms on the ground floor. The first floor housed the officers' quarters and mess, the NCOs quarters and mess, a dressing room and a

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

room. The quartermaster's stores were in the roof space, with the band room and stores in the basement. The barracks were opened on 7 December 1907 by Laurence Oliphant Commander-in-Chief of Northern Command. The West York Royal Engineer Volunteers' ownership of the new building was brief, as the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ( 7 Edw. 7. c. 9) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territor ...

had been passed by Parliament earlier in the year and came into effect on 1 April 1908. Under the new act all volunteer forces would become part of the new Territorial Army and their drill halls would be taken over by the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. The War Office paid only a fraction of the true value of the building when they took it over in 1908. In 1910 a covered Riding School was constructed there, again financed by the men of the corps. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the Engineers were formed into the 1st West Riding Divisional Royal Engineers (T), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Albert E. Bingham, and saw action at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in 1916. The headquarters on Glossop Road became known as Somme Barracks in remembrance of this. The drill hall at the barracks has been used for various exhibitions over the years and also hosted regular

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

matches at one time.''"From Bailey To Bailey - A Short History Of Military Buildings In Sheffield"'', Stephen Johnson, self published, , Pages 40-43, Gives historical details. Up to the early 1990s the barracks were the headquarters of the 106 (West Riding) Field Squadron Royal Engineers (Volunteers) and the

. The Field Squadron moved out and relocated to the newly built Bailey Barracks at Greenhill in Sheffield in 1994 leaving the University Officers' Training Corps as the only unit at Somme Barracks.

Architecture

Turnell built the barracks in the

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style, with the main materials being red brick with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone dressing. The building is L-shaped, with the two-storey wings running along Glossop Road and Gell Street. The main entrance on the corner of the two streets features a large gatehouse with a five-light window above with frieze featuring the

Royal Cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

and the inscription 1st WYRE (VOLS). Most of the windows are stone-crossed

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

s. The Glossop Road frontage features a plaque as a

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

which remembers men of the corps killed in World War One. Inside the barracks is an ante room of the Officers'

Mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

known as the "Allen VC Room"; this commemorates William Barnsley Allen winner of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, who was from Sheffield and attended the University of Sheffield. Chris Hobbs website
Gives details of William Barnsley Allen. Gives architectural details of hall.''"Pevsner Architectural Guides - Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, Yale University Press, , Page 129, Gives architectural details.

Current unit

Only one unit is based at the location: *Sheffield UOTC,

(2011–present)

Notes

References

{{university of Sheffield Drill halls in England Government buildings completed in 1907 Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield