Roussillon Barracks was a military installation in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

History

The barracks were originally established as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution in tented accommodation in 1795 and were enhanced by the use of wooden huts in 1803. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was 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 became the depot for the

35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised in 1701. Under the 1881 Childers Reforms, it was amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment. Hi ...

, the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot and the

Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia The Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia, later the 3rd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, was an auxiliary regiment raised in Sussex on the South Coast of England. From its formal creation in 1778 the regiment served in home defence in all of Brita ...

. The keep, built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style, and chapel were added in 1875. Following the Childers Reforms, the three regiments amalgamated to form the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

in 1881, with its depot in the barracks. Further enhancements to the barracks took place in the 1930s when the wooden huts were removed. The name of the barracks, given in 1958, commemorates the actions of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot in putting the Regiment Royal Roussillon to flight at the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. The barracks were demoted to the status of out-station to the Home Counties Brigade depot at Howe Barracks in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in 1959. Extensive building took place from 1960 until 1964 to accommodate the Royal Military Police who arrived from Inkerman Barracks and took over the site in 1964. Lieutenant-Commander Alfredo Astiz, an Argentine commander, was questioned at the barracks in June 1982 about the murder of Swedish and French nationals. The Royal Military Police left the site in September 2005 and planning permission for housing was granted in 2011. The former guardrooom and gatehouse known as The Keep was retained as an army careers office and, after a period of it not being used, it was transferred to the reserve estate. As a result, in 2019, the building was converted for use as a Joint Cadet Centre and began to host a detachment of the Sussex

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Bri ...

(No. 7 Chichester Detachment).

References

{{reflist, 30em Installations of the British Army Barracks in England Buildings and structures in Chichester