Forton Barracks was a military installation near

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, which served first as an Army barracks and then as a divisional headquarters for the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. It subsequently served as a Royal Navy training establishment. Today, the site is occupied by St Vincent College.

History

Towards the end of the 18th century the owner of Forton Mill sold an adjacent parcel of land to the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, to serve as the site for an Army General Hospital. Forton Military Hospital was begun in 1797; by 1800, however, soldiers were being treated at the nearby Naval hospital at

Haslar Haslar is on the south coast of England, at the southern tip of Alverstoke, on the Gosport peninsula, Hampshire. It takes its name from the Old English , meaning " hazel-landing place". It may have been named after a bank of hazel strewn on ma ...

, so the decision was taken to alter the proposed hospital buildings to serve as a

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

instead. The Barracks opened in 1807, consisting of four tall pavilions connected by arcades (an arrangement very similar to that of the contemporary military hospitals at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and

Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...

). The pavilions faced the main entrance gate (which was flanked by officers' quarters) across a sizeable

parade ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

, believed for a time to have been the largest in the country. Over the next forty years the barracks housed a succession of different regiments. The pavilions were capable of accommodating 832 men plus 48 sergeants; however by the 1840s one pavilion was still serving as a hospital, another had had its ground floor converted into the

officers' mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

and elsewhere space was taken up by school rooms, workshops and stores. Additions to Forton Barracks

At this time the Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marines resided in

Old Portsmouth Old Portsmouth is a district of the city of Portsmouth. It is the area covered by the original medieval town of Portsmouth as planned by Jean de Gisors. It is situated in the south west corner of Portsea Island. The area contains many historic bu ...

in premises which had formerly been a 17th-century brewery and cooperage:

Clarence Barracks Clarence Barracks was a military installation at Portsmouth, Hampshire. History The original site for what became Clarence Barracks was the early 17th-century King's Cooperage in Old Portsmouth, owned and operated by the Victualling Commissioner ...

. Fast outgrowing their accommodation there, an arrangement was reached whereby the Board of Ordnance exchanged Forton Barracks for Clarence (which was adapted to accommodate troops of the garrison

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

), allowing the Marines to move into Forton. To accommodate a full Royal Marine division, the barracks needed to expand: Captain

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

R.E. oversaw the project, which included provision of a large officers' mess, along with additional officers' accommodation, to the east of the parade ground and a sergeants' mess west of the pavilions. The officers' mess included space upstairs for 80 diners plus a 30-piece orchestra, with a library and breakfast room provided downstairs along with kitchens to the rear. James also built two long single-storey blocks (to serve as a school and as offices) either side of the main gate, which he expanded with the addition of a clock tower, and he provided various buildings for stores and other amenities behind the main barrack blocks. The Royal Marines took possession of the barracks in 1848. Shortly afterwards they were retitled the

Royal Marine Light Infantry The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

(to distinguish them from the

Royal Marine Artillery The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

, who had their own separate barracks alongside the Gunwharf on the other side of the harbour). In 1858 the mill and millpond were purchased by the Admiralty; the millpond was drained became part of the site. By 1862 additional barrack blocks had been built between the old pavilions so as to accommodate the full complement of over 1000 men; further expansion, with the construction of married quarters for officers, took place in the 1890s. A 400-seater theatre was built within the site in 1893. In 1922 defence cuts meant that Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Marine Artillery were amalgamated. The newly created Portsmouth Division of the

moved to

Eastney Barracks Eastney Barracks was a military installation occupied by the Royal Marines and located at Eastney near Portsmouth. History Eastney Barracks, designed by William Scamp (assistant director, Admiralty Works Department), was built as headquarters f ...

in August 1923 leaving the site empty. In 1927 the Barracks were recommissioned as HMS ''St. Vincent'' creating a Royal Naval training establishment for boy seamen and juniors. It continued as a shore establishment with the Royal Navy until 1969.

Cadets

In 1904 a division of the Royal Marines Light Infantry Cadet Corps was established. This was based on the successful Royal Marines Artillery Cadet Corps at

and was part of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Volunteer Cadet Corps The Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC) is a national youth organisation managed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and sponsored by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The VCC comprises: * Headquarters VCC. Based at in Gosport. * VCC Training Centre. B ...

. The Forton Division RMLI Cadet Corps closed some years later but today's

Division

Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps The Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps (RMVCC) is part of the Royal Navy's Volunteer Cadet Corps. There are units (Divisions) in Arbroath, Chivenor, Gosport, Lympstone, Portsmouth, and Plymouth. The RMVCC exists alongside the Royal Marine ...

carries on its traditions albeit based at

HMS Sultan Four ships and three shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Sultan''. Ships * was a schooner purchased in 1768 and sold in 1773. * was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1775, and converted for use as a prison ship in 1797. ...

Gallery

File:Grandad Browns Regiment HM Royal marines M23 Squad Forton Rd Barracks Gosport 1917.jpg, Royal Marines Squad M23 at Forton Barracks in 1917 File:Life at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, 15 March 1944 A22393.jpg, Wartime parade at HMS ''St Vincent''; in the background is the Officers' Mess of 1848 File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A18370.jpg, Parade ground, HMS ''St Vincent''; beyond it, the original pavilions of 1807 File:Fleet Air Arm Trainees at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, August 1943 A18357.jpg, The 1807 arcade linking together the pavilions of the old barracks File:Fleet Air Arm Trainees at HMS St Vincent, Gosport, August 1943 A18360.jpg, HMS ''St Vincent'': inside the main gate

References

{{reflist Barracks in England Gosport Military in Hampshire Royal Marines bases