Forton Barracks was a military installation near

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, which served first as an Army barracks and then as a divisional headquarters for the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. It subsequently served as a Royal Navy training establishment. Today, the site is occupied by St Vincent College.

History

Towards the end of the 18th century the owner of Forton Mill sold an adjacent parcel of land to the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, to serve as the site for an Army General Hospital. Forton Military Hospital was begun in 1797; by 1800, however, soldiers were being treated at the nearby Naval hospital at Haslar, so the decision was taken to alter the proposed hospital buildings to serve as a

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

instead. The Barracks opened in 1807, consisting of four tall pavilions connected by arcades (an arrangement very similar to that of the contemporary military hospitals at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and Deal). The pavilions faced the main entrance gate (which was flanked by officers' quarters) across a sizeable

parade ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

, believed for a time to have been the largest in the country. Over the next forty years the barracks housed a succession of different regiments. The pavilions were capable of accommodating 832 men plus 48 sergeants; however by the 1840s one pavilion was still serving as a hospital, another had had its ground floor converted into 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 ...

and elsewhere space was taken up by school rooms, workshops and stores. Additions to Forton Barracks

At this time the Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marines resided in

Old Portsmouth Old Portsmouth is a district of the city of Portsmouth. It is the area covered by the original medieval town of Portsmouth as planned by Jean de Gisors. It is situated in the south west corner of Portsea Island. The roads still largely follow the ...

in premises which had formerly been a 17th-century brewery and cooperage: Clarence Barracks. Fast outgrowing their accommodation there, an arrangement was reached whereby the Board of Ordnance exchanged Forton Barracks for Clarence (which was adapted to accommodate troops of the garrison

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

), allowing the Marines to move into Forton. To accommodate a full Royal Marine division, the barracks needed to expand: Captain

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

R.E. oversaw the project, which included provision of a large officers' mess, along with additional officers' accommodation, to the east of the parade ground and a sergeants' mess west of the pavilions. The officers' mess included space upstairs for 80 diners plus a 30-piece orchestra, with a library and breakfast room provided downstairs along with kitchens to the rear. James also built two long single-storey blocks (to serve as a school and as offices) either side of the main gate, which he expanded with the addition of a clock tower, and he provided various buildings for stores and other amenities behind the main barrack blocks. The Royal Marines took possession of the barracks in 1848. Shortly afterwards they were retitled the Royal Marine Light Infantry (to distinguish them from the Royal Marine Artillery, who had their own separate barracks alongside the Gunwharf on the other side of the harbour). In 1858 the mill and millpond were purchased by the Admiralty; the millpond was drained became part of the site. By 1862 additional barrack blocks had been built between the old pavilions so as to accommodate the full complement of over 1000 men; further expansion, with the construction of married quarters for officers, took place in the 1890s. A 400-seater theatre was built within the site in 1893. In 1922 defence cuts meant that Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Marine Artillery were amalgamated. The newly created Portsmouth Division of the

moved to Eastney Barracks in August 1923 leaving the site empty. In 1927 the Barracks were recommissioned as HMS ''St. Vincent'' creating a Royal Naval training establishment for boy seamen and juniors. It continued as a shore establishment with the Royal Navy until 1969.

Cadets

In 1904 a division of the Royal Marines Light Infantry Cadet Corps was established. This was based on the successful Royal Marines Artillery Cadet Corps at Eastney Barracks and was part of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's Volunteer Cadet Corps. The Forton Division RMLI Cadet Corps closed some years later but today's

Division Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps carries on its traditions albeit based at HMS Sultan.

Gallery

File:Grandad Browns Regiment HM Royal marines M23 Squad Forton Rd Barracks Gosport 1917.jpg, Royal Marines Squad M23 at Forton Barracks in 1917 File:Life at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, 15 March 1944 A22393.jpg, Wartime parade at HMS ''St Vincent''; in the background is the Officers' Mess of 1848 File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A18370.jpg, Parade ground, HMS ''St Vincent''; beyond it, the original pavilions of 1807 File:Fleet Air Arm Trainees at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, August 1943 A18357.jpg, The 1807 arcade linking together the pavilions of the old barracks File:Fleet Air Arm Trainees at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, August 1943 A18360.jpg, HMS ''St Vincent'': inside the main gate

References

{{reflist Barracks in England Gosport Military in Hampshire Royal Marines bases