Castlehill Barracks was a military installation in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

The barracks, which were built on the site of a 12th-century castle, were completed in response to a perceived threat from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

between 1764 and 1796. 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 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

92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders in 1881. History Forma ...

and the

93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1799. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sut ...

. 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

75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot The 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot, was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders in 1881. History ...

amalgamated with the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. A major extension in the form of a large new block was built to accommodate the new depot between 1880 and 1881. The barracks fell into a state of disrepair in the early part of the 20th century. They were withdrawn from military use in 1935 when the Gordon Highlanders moved to

Gordon Barracks Gordon Barracks is a military installation situated in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen. History The barrack buildings, which were built by J and W Wittet between 1933 and 1935, are located around the barrack square. Constructed of dressed granite blo ...

Bridge of Don Bridge of Don is a suburb in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland. In , the Bridge of Don electoral ward was estimated to have a population of 19,545. Bridge of Don is split into four areas for statistical purposes by Aberdeen City Council and Polic ...

and were used as emergency housing in the 1940s and 1950s. The barracks were ultimately demolished in 1965 to make way for the Marischal Court and Virginia Court flats.

References

{{reflist Barracks in Scotland Installations of the British Army