Roussillon Barracks was a military installation in Chichester.

History

The barracks were originally established as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution in tented accommodation in 1795 and were enhanced by the use of wooden huts in 1803. 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 for the

35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881. History ...

, the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot and the Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia. The keep, built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style, and chapel were added in 1875. 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 three regiments amalgamated to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881, with its depot in the barracks. Further enhancements to the barracks took place in the 1930s when the wooden huts were removed. The name of the barracks, given in 1958, commemorates the actions of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot in putting the Regiment Royal Roussillon to flight at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham during the Seven Years' War. The barracks were demoted to the status of out-station to the Home Counties Brigade depot at Howe Barracks in Canterbury in 1959. Extensive building took place from 1960 until 1964 to accommodate the Royal Military Police who arrived from Inkerman Barracks and took over the site in 1964. Lieutenant-Commander

Alfredo Astiz Alfredo Ignacio Astiz (born 8 November 1951) is an Argentine former military Commander (naval), commander, intelligence officer, and naval commando who served in the Argentine Navy during the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla during t ...

, an Argentine commander, was questioned at the barracks in June 1982 about the murder of Swedish and French nationals. The Royal Military Police left the site in September 2005 and planning permission for housing was granted in 2011. The keep is still retained as an army careers office.

References

{{reflist, 30em Installations of the British Army Barracks in England Buildings and structures in Chichester