Cameron Barracks stands on Knockentinnel Hill on the eastern outskirts of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

in Scotland.

History

The barracks were built by the Royal Engineers' Office between 1880 and 1886. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties had been instituted under the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attentio ...

and the barracks were intended to become the

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Ch ...

for the

71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot The 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, raised in 1777. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in 1881. Histo ...

and the

78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish regiment, Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highla ...

. Following the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...

, the barracks became depot of the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of ...

in 1881. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, the barracks was used to process many thousands of volunteer recruits. Returning wounded and demobilising soldiers also passed through the barracks towards the end of the war and on its conclusion. Conscientious objectors were, for a time, held here, as was the crew of a captured German submarine. The barracks remained in use as the base of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders until September 1960 when the regiment moved to

Fort George Fort George may refer to: Forts Bermuda * Fort George, Bermuda, built in the late 18th Century and successively developed through the 19th Century, on a site that had been in use as a watch and signal station since 1612 British Virgin Islands * ...

, shortly before the amalgamation of Seaforths and Camerons.

Architecture

Built in the Baronial style, it consists of 4 2-storey blocks enclosing 3 sides of the parade ground. The north-west and west blocks each have, at their centre, twin conical-roofed drum towers linked by a balcony above the round-arched entrance. The north-east block is surmounted by an asymmetrical clock-tower. There is, at north-east corner, a square-plan entrance tower forming the main gateway. The barracks was listed as B on 21 May 1971.

Music

Cameron Barracks has a very long affiliation with both Army Piping and Cadet Force Piping. The first Army Class of Instruction was held at Cameron Barracks in 1910 under the expert tutelage of Pipe Major John MacDonald and supervisory direction of the

Piobaireachd Society Pibroch, or is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, has for some f ...

. The Army Cadet Force has endeavoured to keep this affiliation alive and each year an eight-day course of instruction is held at Cameron Barracks during the Easter school holidays.

Current units

The barracks are mostly used for exercising troops, however a number of small permanent occupants are present: *Regimental Headquarters, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion,

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an ind ...

References

{{Reflist Barracks in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Highland (council area) Buildings and structures in Inverness