Hillsborough Barracks is a walled complex of buildings between Langsett Road and Penistone Road in the Hillsborough District of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Early history

The complex, which covers an area of circa , dates from 1848, replacing an inadequate barracks at Hillfoot.Bailey to Bailey - A Short History of Military Building in Sheffield by Stephen Johnson The barracks is divided into three terraces. The first (top) terrace faces on to what is now Langsett Road. This contained the

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 ...

establishment, quarters for around 40 officers and a similar number of servants, and a chapel. This building has a length of about and a width and height of about , is three storeys high and has a mixture of

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and castellated styles. The other buildings of the barracks consisted of a large five-bedroomed house serving as the

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

Commander’s Quarters outside the walls, a 58-patient two-storey hospital incorporating 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 ...

for

RAMC 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 ...

personnel, a Dental Clinic and a facility for treating women, infantry soldiers' quarters, a clock tower building, with

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

soldiers' quarters on the first floor and stabling for 260 horses on the ground floor (total accommodation for 918 NCO and other ranks). There was also a Fives Court, a Riding School, a school for 80 children and accommodation for the schoolmistress, married quarters flats for 50 families provided outside the walls, a Gun Shed housing six

Field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artill ...

s, the Barracks Store with living quarters for the

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 ...

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

, a Guard Room incorporating a Police Room, Detention Cells, and an exercise yard, a Vehicle Shed (built in 1903) which could house 26 motor cars, a Veterinary Infirmary large enough to house 18 horses, a

Granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...

, four cookhouses and various workshops. File:Hillsborough Barracks (geograph 5239781).jpg, Cavalry quarters File:Hillsborough Barracks 6119.jpg, Main building, Langsett Road File:Hillsborough Barracks Infantry Quarters 01 2015.jpg, Infantry Quarters File:Garrison Hotel 2016 Guardhouse.jpg, Guardhouse File:Hillsborough Barracks Chapel 2015.jpg, Chapel File:Hillsborough Barracks Plan.jpg, Site plan On the northern side of the Barracks runs the River Loxley. On the night of Friday 11 March 1864 the ill-fated Dale Dyke Dam further up the Loxley Valley at Bradfield burst causing the

Great Sheffield Flood The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood that devastated parts of Sheffield, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke as its reservoir was being filled for the first time. At least 240 people died and more than 600 houses were ...

and the resulting flood waters breached a stone wall that was three feet thick. The water rose to the height of twelve feet outside the window of Sergeant Foulds' quarters and drowned two of his children. On 26 July 1932, an auction was held on the instructions of the War Department by Eadon & Lockwood at Sheffield. However, when bidding reached only £12,000, the auction was terminated and the Barracks withdrawn from sale. In October of that year, the complex was sold to Burdall’s Ltd, a manufacturing chemist noted for its gravy salt, and it became known as ''Burdall’s Buildings''.

Redevelopment

A major redevelopment of the site was embarked upon in the late 1980s. The result is the large retail and business complex seen today, in which all the surviving structures have been cleaned of the grime from Sheffield's industrial past. The focus of the complex is the

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headq ...

Supermarket covering the old

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 si ...

Parade Ground, which has been roofed for the purpose and is fronted by the clock-towered stable block. The old

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

Parade Ground is now a two-storey car park between the Stable Block and the old Officers' Mess (now the headquarters for Sheffield Insulations Ltd). The old football ground and rifle range are now a B&Q DIY Superstore. The Married Quarters which served as flats until the end of the 1970s were demolished and the area is now a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

Drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...

Restaurant. The Garrison Commander’s House was demolished and its site is now covered with a garage and petrol station. The old guard room is now the Garrison Hotel and Jailhouse Bar.

References

External links

Garrison Hotel
Intro is worth watching {{SheffieldStructures Installations of the British Army Barracks in England Buildings and structures in Sheffield Hillsborough, South Yorkshire