The Keep, Dorchester is part of the former county barracks of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 54th Regiment of Foot. The

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

were built in about 1880 and housed various regiments as units were amalgamated. It ceased to be used in 1958 and most of the site was redeveloped in the 1960s, but the keep remained in

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 ...

hands and is now used as a

regimental museum In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the British Army, army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a :Military and war museums, military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment. List of ...

. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History of the barracks

The Dorchester Depot Barracks were built between 1877 and 1881 on the site of a

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

barracks, which had been established there little over a decade earlier. 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 site included a large parade ground, which was laid out between the Keep (or armoury) and the building now known as the 'little keep' and flanked by brick-built barrack blocks (including separate accommodation for officers and other ranks), the officers' mess, a gymnasium, stores, offices and other ancillary buildings. The barracks became the depot for the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot. 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 w ...

, the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the

54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881. History Early history T ...

to form the

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the List of British Army regiments (1881), county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although ...

with its depot in the barracks in 1881. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the barracks were occupied by 701st Ordnance Light Maintenance Company and the 1st Quartermaster Company of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. In 1958 the Dorset Regiment amalgamated with the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

to form the

Devonshire and Dorset Regiment The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment (11th, 39th and 54th), usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments, the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset ...

and Regimental Headquarters were re-located to Wyvern Barracks in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. The site of the barracks was redeveloped; some buildings (including the long soldiers' barracks block on the west side) were demolished, but several others were sold, being taken over by the

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

and the

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

in the 1960s; a tax office was built on the parade ground. Only the keep was retained by the Ministry of Defence. In 2016 the Council sold one of the former barrack blocks for conversion into residential properties. Alongside the depot barracks, across Poundbury Road, stood the older Cavalry Barracks (opened in 1795 and later known as

Marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

Barracks). Most of that site remains in military use as Dorchester's Army Reserve Centre.

The museum

The keep is now a

for the

, the

, The Dorset Yeomanry, Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry, The Dorset Militia, The Royal Devon Yeomanry and 94 Field Regiment RA. The collection includes

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's desk which was taken from the ruins of the Chancellory in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1945. The museum occupies the keep of the original barracks. It is a Grade II

and the ground floor preserves its previous layout. The museum is entered through the ammunition and powder store, and through this is the archway that used to lead to the rest of the barracks. Close to the archway are the guardroom and cells, one of which is equipped as it would have been when it housed prisoners. In the west tower is a rope winding gear to hoist weapons, ammunition and other stores to the upper floors. The first floor is gained by a spiral stair and is now the regimental museum with a display of uniforms, weapons and equipment used by the regiment during its 300-year history. The second floor has a display of campaign and gallantry medals as well as exhibits showing small arms and silverware. The third floor has displays of objects and information on the recent military history of the regiment, places where it has been deployed and events in which it has taken part. Above this is the battlements where there are extensive views of the town and surrounding countryside.

References

External links

Museum website

Dorchester barracks: marketing website for residential properties
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keep Dorchester Regimental museums in England Dorchester Museums in Dorchester, Dorset Buildings and structures in Dorchester, Dorset Dorset Regiment