Pontefract Barracks is a former military installation in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England.

History

The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and were completed in 1879. Their creation took place as part of 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 ...

which encouraged the localisation of British military forces. The barracks were intended as

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

51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot The 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) to form the King's Own Yorkshir ...

and the

105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

. Under 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 ...

these regiments amalgamated to form the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

with its depot at the barracks in 1881. The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry remained at the barracks until 1938 when they moved to Strensall Camp. The barracks were also intended as depot for the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot and the

84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment of Foot The 84th (York and Lancaster) Regiment of Foot was a regiment in the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot to form the York and Lancaster Regiment, with ...

. Under the

these regiments amalgamated to form the York and Lancaster Regiment with its depot at the barracks in 1881. The barracks were demoted to the status of out-station to the Yorkshire Brigade depot at Queen Elizabeth Barracks in 1958 and closed in 1963. The barracks were redeveloped by Asquith Properties and converted into serviced offices in 1997.

References

{{reflist Installations of the British Army Barracks in England