The Strand Road drill hall is an arts center and former military installation in Carlisle,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

History

The building was designed as the headquarters of Carlisle Rifle Volunteers on land granted by the Duke of Devonshire and was built between 1873 and 1874. This unit evolved to become the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

in 1883 and the 4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion, The Border Regiment in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The building went on to serve as the head office of the East Cumberland National Shell Factory in September 1915. After the battalion headquarters moved to the Queen Katherine Street drill hall in Kendal, the Strand Road drill hall was decommissioned and then stood vacant for many years before being converted and extended for use as the home of the Carlisle College Digital and Creative Arts Centre which opened at its new premises in September 2014.

References

{{reflist, 30em Drill halls in England Buildings and structures in Carlisle, Cumbria