History in Structure

Royal Citadel Main Barracks

A Grade II Listed Building in Plymouth, City of Plymouth

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.3649 / 50°21'53"N

Longitude: -4.1366 / 4°8'11"W

OS Eastings: 248138

OS Northings: 53844

OS Grid: SX481538

Mapcode National: GBR RC8.M8

Mapcode Global: FRA 2872.D9N

Plus Code: 9C2Q9V77+W9

Entry Name: Royal Citadel Main Barracks

Listing Date: 8 July 1998

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1067147

English Heritage Legacy ID: 473147

ID on this website: 101067147

Location: Barbican, Plymouth, Devon, PL1

County: City of Plymouth

Electoral Ward/Division: St Peter and the Waterfront

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Plymouth

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Tagged with: Building

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Description



PLYMOUTH

SX4853NW THE BARBICAN
740-1/67/875 Royal Citadel: Main barracks
08/07/98

GV II

Soldier's barracks and recreation block. 1897 and 1899
datestones; by T Rogers Kitsell, architect for the War Office;
altered internally and to rear mid C20.
MATERIALS: dressed Plymouth limestone brought to course; dry
slate roofs with projecting eaves; dressed stone axial, gable
and lateral stacks to the ends and front walls of the barrack
rooms, all with moulded entablature.
PLAN: U-shaped plan, with a central recreation block, flanked
by 2 pairs of barrack blocks with central stairs and barrack
rooms each side, the outer ones forming the sides of a
courtyard and terminated by single-storey wash houses.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys; near symmetrical unaltered front with
taller 8-window central recreation block flanked by
2:2:2-window barrack blocks forming cross wings at the end.
Original horned sashes or mullioned windows. Central block has
5 transomed 1st-floor windows, the central window a wider
3-light mullioned window above a porch with moulded parapet
cornice and a 4-centred arched doorway with square hoodmould.
There is another doorway in the right-hand angle. Outer gables
set forward with 5-light double transomed mullioned windows
over group of 3 small windows. There are double strings
forming an entablature to the central bays and sill strings
elsewhere.
The 4 barrack blocks have similar details each with central
gables with outer doorways, outer pairs of windows separated
by a lateral stack. Ranges terminated by a single-storey
parapeted wash house with a round-arched arcade to the front
with return arches.
The outer elevation to the ramparts is straight, the central
section is punctuated by the gables of the cross wings
flanking a round-arched open doorway, now to a C20 terrace,
beneath an oriel with 3-light transom and mullion window and a
round gable containing a coat of arms. The doorway has a
rusticated arch springing from ashlar jambs with moulded
cornices; spoked fanlight over later pair of glazed doors.
INTERIOR: not inspected.
HISTORY: a garrison was based at the Citadel since the late
C17. The old quarters were rebuilt under the 1890 Barracks
Act, and they are, with the Peninsula barracks in Winchester,
a rare example of an architect-designed barracks. The


individual barracks are standard units which, with the
recreation block, forms an interesting composed range,
carefully designed to fit into the context of the C17 fort. A
fine example of its type, and part of a good group of
1890s-1900s barracks buildings at this important C17 fort.
(The Builder: Kitsell TR: Plymouth Citadel - new barracks and
revreation block: London: 1898-: 104-5; Woodward FW: Citadel:
Devon: 1987-; Saunders A: Fortress Britain: Portsmouth:
1989-).

Listing NGR: SX4813853844

External Links

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