The Barracks, Watton is a military installation in

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

in Wales.

History

The original barracks, which were constructed of red brick, were built at the Watton in 1805 and then extended in 1813.Tones, p. 126 In 1873, as part of the Cardwell Reforms (which encouraged the localisation of British military forces), the barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot, which began recruiting throughout South Wales. In the mid-1870s, troops from the barracks were despatched to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. During January 1879, the 24th Regiment became famed for its role at two momentous battles of the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

– Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. That same year, a keep, for the storage of arms and ammunition, was added to the barracks. Following the Childers Reforms, on 1 July 1881, the 24th Regiment was renamed the South Wales Borderers. The South Wales Borderers Museum, now the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh, opened at the barracks in 1935. The barracks were designated as a Regional Seat of Government in the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Headquarters Wales was established at the barracks in 1972. In 1991, the first of the minor districts to be amalgamated were North West District, the former West Midlands District (by then Western District) and Wales, to form a new Wales and Western District. The enlarged district was disbanded on the formation of HQ Land Command in 1995. The barracks are now the home of 160th (Wales) Brigade. In November 2016 the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

announced that the site would close in 2027. This decision was later scrapped under the Future Soldier reforms.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barracks, Brecon Installations of the British Army Barracks in Wales