Kempston Barracks is a military installation at

Kempston Kempston is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 19,330 in the 2011 census. Kempston is part of Bedford's built-up area and is situated directly south-west of Bedford proper. The River ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

History

The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and completed between 1875 and 1876. Their creation took place as part of 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 attentio ...

which encouraged the localisation of British military forces. The barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the

16th (Bedfordshire) Regiment of Foot The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

. 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 regiment evolved to become the

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World Wa ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. The barracks went on to be the depot for the

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

in 1919. The building was used as a convalescent centre during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The barracks were closed when the regiment was merged with the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

to form the

3rd East Anglian Regiment The 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. History As a result of the 1957 Defence Review, the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment amalgam ...

(16th/44th Foot) on 2 June 1958; much of the site has been developed for residential use and the keep is now occupied by a

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

References

{{reflist Barracks in England Installations of the British Army Kempston