Woolwich Garrison
Woolwich Garrison is a garrison or station of the British Army. Geographically it is in Woolwich, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In terms of command, it is within the Army's London District.
At its largest, the garrison oversaw two division headquarters plus supporting units and around 7 battalions. Over the course of the 20th century the garrison began to diminish in size and importance, and much of its land and buildings were sold. In April 2001, the garrison reduced to a station, and Central Volunteer Headquarters, Royal Artillery, took over the role of HQ. Nevertheless, Royal Artillery Barracks continued to serve as the headquarters of the Royal Artillery until 2007, when it moved to Larkhill Garrison, since when other units have been based within the barracks and at nearby Napier Lines. The army is scheduled to leave Woolwich in 2028.
Historical overview
There has been a military presence in Woolwich since at least the 16th century, when troops would have been engaged in defending Woolwich Dockyard. What gave the town its distinctive military character, however, was the arrival of the Board of Ordnance. The Board first acquired land here in the 1670s; this evolved to become the Royal Arsenal, which was the British Government's principal armaments manufacturing facility for over 200 years. The Board was a military as well as a civil office of state: the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Corps Of Royal Engineers were both military formations of the Board, raised in the early 18th century and only becoming part of the British Army in the 1850s. In 1776 the Royal Artillery moved out of its initial headquarters in the Warren into a new, purpose-built Royal Artillery Barracks just north of Woolwich Common. Subsequently, as a variety of military quarters, institutions and amenities sprang up the surrounding area, and a new garrison town began to emerge.Over time Woolwich Garrison has been composed of some or all of the following elements:
Royal Artillery Barracks
The barracks was built in 1774-76 and more than doubled in size after being extended in 1802–05. The blocks facing the parade ground housed artillery officers and troops; behind were a pair of quadrangles which provided accommodation for the Royal Horse Artillery, and beyond these another long block. In the 1950s and 60s most of the surviving original buildings were demolished and replaced with modern blocks, though the main south façade was retained. The area of land known as the Barrack Field, adjoining the common, was purchased together with the site for the barracks and used for various military purposes. Alongside the parade ground a Gun Park was laid out for field gun drill exercises.West of the Barracks
Royal Military Repository
In the 1770s, Captain William Congreve created a 'Repository of Military Machines' in the Warren: a collection of guns, mortars, models and other items used to teach gunners and engineers the history and practice of their craft. At the same time, he devised a set of practical training exercises, which were carried out under his supervision on open ground nearby; known as 'Repository Exercises', these involved manhandling heavy guns and equipment over 'Ditches, Ravines, Inclosures or Lines' designed to simulate challenges likely to be encountered in the field. In 1778 the Royal Military Repository was given formal recognition, and Repository Exercises became compulsory.In 1802 the building in the Warren burned down; but shortly afterwards Congreve re-established the Repository on recently acquired land just to the west of the Barrack Field. There, what became known as the 'Repository Grounds' were laid out with trees, ditches, ravines, earthworks, and other structures in order to train troops in the movement of guns, ammunition and heavy equipment across difficult terrain. There were two large ponds, on which men were taught 'to lay pontoons, to transport artillery upon rafts, and all the different methods that can be adopted for the passage of troops across rivers, &c.'. In the 1820s an earthwork training fortification was added along the length of the eastern boundary, on which were mounted 'all the different sorts of cannon used in the defence of fortified towns'.
On the southern part of the site, four long gun-carriage sheds were built in 1802-5. To the north of the sheds, the Rotunda was rebuilt in 1820; it served to house the surviving model collection of the Royal Military Repository.
In the 1880s it was still the case that all officers of the Artillery had to pass a term of instruction at the Repository. The Rotunda by this time had been opened to the public as the Royal Artillery Museum. In 1890, the Royal Military Repository closed. The Repository Woods remained in used for military training, however, through the 20th and into the 21st century.
Napier Lines
In the early 20th century the Ordnance College converted some of the old Repository Sheds into training workshops, accommodating 520 'wheelers, fitters, smiths, painters and others'. By the time of the Second World War it had evolved into a vehicle maintenance base, and after the war it was taken over by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, whose senior officer on site was accommodated in 'Repository House'. In 1995 the workshops were replaced with large new sheds to store the vehicles and matériel of the 16th Air Defence Regiment; they were named Napier Lines. 16th Regiment, the last Regiment of Royal Artillery to be stationed in Woolwich, departed in 2007. In 2011 part of the area was converted, with new stable blocks added, to form a base for the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery named King George VI Lines.The Observatory (Magnetic Office)
On Green Hill, east of the Repository, an observatory was built in 1838. This was the first headquarters of the Royal Artillery Institution, which had been founded that year by Lieutenants John Lefroy and Frederick Eardley-Wilmot. From 1839 it also served as the home base for Edward Sabine's global survey of terrestrial magnetism ; it was known for a time as the Magnetic Office, until the Magnetic Survey moved to Kew Observatory in 1871. The observatory was extended in 1853, with the addition of a domed equatorial room. The following year, the RA Institution moved into new larger premises within the main Barracks complex; but it continued to use the observatory for astronomy until 1926. While the equatorial room was demolished soon afterwards, the original small transit room survives, alongside the pedimented annexe which originally housed the Institution's library and reading room. In the 21st century it accommodated the Royal Military Police.Housing and other amenities
In the area between the Gun Park and the Rotunda, terraced housing was built in the 1920s to serve as married quarters for soldiers. More terraces were added in the 1930s and 1950s; as Green Hill Barracks they continued to house soldiers into the 21st century. North of the Gun Park, rows of gun carriage sheds were built in the 19th century; known as Congreve Lines, the area now contains the Army Medical Centre and welfare services.Further to the north, a Regimental School had been established in 1808, in timber sheds by the barracks. In the 1850s the school was rebuilt on what is now Green Hill Terrace. By the 1860s, Green Hill Schools had a daily attendance of over a thousand children, with teaching also provided on site for non-commissioned officers as a way of combatting illiteracy. In the evening the building was put to social and other uses; it remained in military use until the 1960s.
South of the Barracks
Woolwich Common
Use of Woolwich Common by the military predated the opening of the barracks: guns had been tested there since the 1720s, and in 1770 an artillery range was set up for target practice. In 1802-4 four Acts of Parliament transferred leasehold ownership of the common to the Board of Ordnance; the 'Gatehouse' on Repository Road dates from around this time. The Board acquired freehold ownership in 1812.The common has long been used for sport: on the west side of the common a stadium was built by the Army in 1920; it was used for football, rugby, show jumping, athletics, and also military tattoos. The shooting events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were held at a temporary venue on the northern edge of the common;.