Invicta Park Barracks is a military installation in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

Maidstone Barracks

The White Rabbit Pub, Maidstone - geograph

Permanent barracks were first established in Maidstone as part of the British response to the threat of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1797. Maidstone Barracks was a major cavalry barracks at a stationing point between London and the Kent coast (along which several more cavalry barracks were established in the 1790s). The barracks buildings were constructed of timber for speedy assembly, an approach taken at a number of other such establishments around the country hastily built (for both cavalry and infantry) at the start of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. At the time of its establishment, Maidstone Barracks served as the army's Cavalry Depot (for inducting and training new recruits). In 1832 the Cavalry Riding Establishment moved there from

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

. The Riding Establishment had been set up in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars to encourage best practice in

equitation Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship. More specifically, equitation may refer to a rider's position while mounted, and encompasses a rider's ability to ride correctly and with effective aids. In horse show competitio ...

: standardised regulations were drawn up, and from 1834 all Riding Masters (responsible for training across the cavalry regiments) were sent on a course of instruction at Maidstone, to ensure that they were schooled in the official way of riding. From 1844 chosen NCOs from each regiment were also sent to Maidstone to be trained according to the prescribed regulations; this enabled them to assist the Riding Master and to serve as

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

Riding Instructors. In the 1860s the Riding Establishment moved from Maidstone to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. By the 1830s Maidstone was serving as the home depot for all cavalry regiments stationed in India (each of which would leave behind three officers and forty-one other ranks who would be responsible for recruiting). In the 1850s a second cavalry depot was established at

Canterbury Barracks Howe Barracks was a military installation in Canterbury in Kent. History Permanent barracks were first established in Canterbury when William Baldock initiated construction of "St Gregory’s Barracks", an infantry barracks on Sturry Road, as pa ...

; the two operated in tandem until 1865, at which point the depot at Maidstone was abolished leaving Canterbury alone to serve as depot for the cavalry regiments. 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 attention ...

and the barracks became the

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

for the 50th (West Kent) Regiment of Foot and the

97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot The 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1824 and amalgamated into the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) in 1881. History Raising In 1823 and 1824 the size of the British Army ...

. Following the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...

, the 50th and 97th regiments amalgamated to form the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. By 1936 the old barracks had begun to fall into disrepair, and the Regiment began to move to nearby Invicta Park; nevertheless the old barracks were retained by the Army, continuing in use until the 1990s. Although the barracks blocks were demolished in 1991, the Officers’ Mess still survives as the White Rabbit Public House in Sandling Road. Apart from the brick chimneys and slate roof, the building is entirely made of wood, and is the last remaining example of a type of building designed by the Barrack Department in the 1790s to be erected in a hurry, as required to house troops of cavalry or regiments of infantry ready for deployment.

Invicta Park

An adjacent site, just a few hundred yards north, was acquired from the Lushington family in 1936 and shortly before the outset of 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 ...

a hutted camp (later known as Invicta Lines, reflecting '' Invicta'', the motto of Kent) was built there, initially for the training of

militiamen A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. These new barracks became the Regimental Depot and Headquarters of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment and it housed the regiment's Infantry Training Centre (13 I.T.C.) for the duration of the war. In 1946 the I.T.C. moved to Shorncliffe. While Maidstone continued as the Headquarters of the Regiment, only a skeleton staff remained on site (mainly to maintain the Officers' and Serjeants' Messes for occasional functions) until in 1950 the Regimental Depot system was re-established for infantry training. In 1959, however, the depot was demoted to the status of out-station to the new

Home Counties Brigade The Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of the Home Counties of south east England. After the Second World War the British Army had fou ...

depot at

Howe Barracks Howe Barracks was a military installation in Canterbury in Kent. History Permanent barracks were first established in Canterbury when William Baldock initiated construction of "St Gregory’s Barracks", an infantry barracks on Sturry Road, as pa ...

. In June 1961, following the amalgamation of the regiment with

The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

, the Regimental Depot and Headquarters closed. The Regimental Headquarters of 36 Engineer Regiment have been at Maidstone since 1959. They were initially based in the hutted camp at Invicta Lines, but between 1965 and 1966 it was demolished and the regiment moved into new barracks on the site, which was renamed Invicta Park. The regiment had also occupied the old Barracks since the 1960s, but these were vacated in 1994 when new working accommodation was provided on an expanded Invicta Park site. In November 2016 the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

announced that the site would close in 2027, this was later extended to 2029.

References

{{reflist Installations of the British Army Barracks in England Buildings and structures in Maidstone