Listing Text

PORTSMOUTH

SU60SW WHALE ISLAND
774-1/3/467 HMS Excellent: Drill shed (Building
08/07/98 No.190)

II

Naval drill hall, gunnery school. Dated 1892. Red brick in
English bond with brighter-red brick arches and ashlar
dressings; corrugated-iron roof.
PLAN/EXTERIOR: large rectangular structure of one storey, 3 x
19 bays, open on north side (onto Parade Ground). Chamfered
plinth; giant brick pilasters flanking recessed panels and
linked by stepped eaves bands. End elevations each have
projecting central bay with wide round-arched entrance
containing double door below tympanum of diagonally-laid
brickwork, imposts, keystone with fouled anchor (and date at
west end) rising into brick band; above, oculus with radial
glazing bars; pedimented gable flanked by swept brackets and
with ashlar coping and ball-on-spire finial; to flanking bays,
blind segmental-arched windows. South elevation: small-pane
metal windows in segmental-arched openings, the bays defined
by buttresses with offset heads. North elevation:
square-columned arcade, each bay having 9-light glazed head.
Full-length ridge clerestory with louvres.
INTERIOR: a wide-span roof of tensile trusses made of diagonal
wrought-iron ties from a canted cross tie to angle iron
principals, and braces of paired flat iron.
HISTORY: the first barracks were built here in 1863 as part of
the naval gunnery school. A large hall for indoor drill
practice, comparable with the large examples at the main naval
barracks at Plymouth and Chatham and included for its historic
technical interest.
(The Oxford Illustrated History of the Royal Navy: Oxford:
1995-: 255).

Listing NGR: SU6377602639