The Queen Katherine Street drill hall is a former military installation located on Queen Katherine Street, off Aynam Road, in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England.

History

The building was designed as the base for the Westmorland-based companies (F and G Companies) of 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 in ...

and was built in the late 19th century. These companies became part of the 4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion, The Border Regiment in 1908. The companies were mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. A Squadron,

Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry The Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army with its origins in 1798. The regiment provided troops for the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War and served on the Western Front in the First ...

and the 3rd West Lancashire Field Ambulance,

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

were also based at the drill hall. After the Strand Road drill hall in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

closed, the Queen Katherine Street drill hall became the headquarters for the whole battalion. The presence at the drill was reduced to a single company, D (The Westmorland) Company, 4th (Territorial) Battalion, The Border Regiment in 1967. This unit evolved to become B (4th Border Regiment) Company,

Northumbrian Volunteers The Northumbrian Volunteers was a short-lived Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1971 to 1975. History The regiment was formed on 1 April 1971, as the successor to Territorial Army infantry battalions of C ...

in 1971, C Company, 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The

King's Own Royal Border Regiment The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1959 until 2006, and was part of the King's Division. It was formed at Barnard Castle on 1 October 1959 through the amalgamation of the King's ...

in 1975 and B Company, 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment in 1988. The presence at the drill was further reduced to a mortar platoon in 1992 and ceased altogether in 1999.

Current units

Current units at the site are: *Kendal Detachment, Cumbria

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Bri ...

*1127 (Kendal) Squadron, Cumbria & Lancashire Wing,

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

References

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