The Castle Armoury is a military installation in

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England.

History

The armoury was designed as the headquarters of the 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps and built on the remains of Bury Castle in 1868. An extension exhibiting the same architectural features was opened by the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

in November 1907. The 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps evolved to become the 1st Volunteer Battalion, the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

in 1883 and the 5th Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the armoury in September 1914 before being deployed to the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

, then to

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and ultimately to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. The armoury remained the home of the 5th battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers through the inter-war period. A major fire took hold at the armoury in January 1943 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which a fireman died and the building was seriously damaged, and it was not until summer 1952 that the restoration was complete. After the war the armoury continued to be used by the 5th battalion the Lancashire Fusiliers until the battalion was disbanded in 1967. The armoury was then used by a company of the 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, a unit which evolved following amalgamations to become the

Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers The Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers was a Territorial Army unit of the British Army. It was formed on 1 July 1999 following the Strategic Defence Review by the amalgamation of the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment and the ...

in July 1999 and 4th Battalion the

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The Du ...

in July 2006. It is a Grade II

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The building closed in June 2022 with the owners, a trust, citing safety grounds. The leaser, the Ministry of Defence's Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association stated that funding was not available to carry out the estimated £2 million of urgent repairs, with further work required to modernise the building.

Former units

The following units were based at the armoury immediately before its closure: British Army *W (Gallipoli) Company, 5th Battalion,

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st battalion, part of ...

*B Detachment,

207 (Manchester) Field Hospital 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital is a unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps within the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve of the British Army. History The hospital was formed upon the formation of the TAVR in 1967, from the amalgamation of ...

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

*Lancashire Band and Corps of Drums of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Community Cadet Forces *Bury Detachment, Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force *1036 (Bury) Squadron, Greater Manchester Wing, Air Training Corps

References

{{Buildings and structures in Bury Drill halls in England Grade II listed buildings in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury

History

Former units

See also

References