(NU 00105307) Barracks. (1)

The Barracks, built in 1719 consist of three separate buildings occupying three sides of a quadrangle. The fourth side is occupied by a high wall and gatehouse. The buildings are said to be the earliest barracks built in Britain. (2)(3)

Built between 1717-1721 and amongst the earliest designed barracks in Britain. During a consolidation programme numbers of soldiers' graffiti have been found on the ceilings of second floor barrackrooms. They were mainly executed with candle smoke and survived because they were hidden beneath later ceilings. They date from the 1720s-1760s. They are being conserved and will be displayed.

1. PARADE 840 The Barracks

NU 0053 11/154 I

2. 1719,probably built by Vanbrugh.Said to be the earliest barracks
built in Britain. Built to house 576 men.

Authority 4 is the full text of Authority 3. For full description see List.(4)

A watching brief and evaluation was carried out in 1997-98 by TWM Archaeology for Northumbrian Water and English Heritage within the Barracks. Several lengths of new sewer were installed in the area to the south of the eastern range of the Barracks along with some landscaping.
Evaluation trenches were dug to determine the position of an old precinct wall adjacent to the site of the Armourer's Shop. These demonstrated that portions of the lower courses of the former precinct wall did survive on the predicted alignment and that significant damage had been caused by the insertion of Victorian and later drain and sewer pipes. The old wall was originally built of sandstone blocks, but had been repaired with brick at a later date. It was encountered at a depth of 0.10m below current ground level. Late 17th/early 18th century deposits were found and may represent household waste dumped against the Elizabethan ramparts.
A watching brief was maintained on two further trenches. One, to the south of the Canteen, revealed foundations of an east-west wall which formed part of the original boundary of the Barracks and separated them from the Ordnance House to the south. The second trench revealed two deposits thought to represent late 17th to early 18th century and later dumping of household waste near the ramparts. The dumping may pre-date the construction of the Barracks or derive from early occupation of them. (5)

Amendments to Listing. For the current Listed Building descriptions see the relevant statutory records- in the later versions of the Listed Building decriptions it is clear that the architect is now thought to have been Hawksmoor. (6a)

English Heritage Guide to the barracks and fortifications published in 1999. (6b)

Discussion of the barracks in the context of the wider development, characterisation and conservation of the town's heritage. One of the motivations behind the building of the barracks was to end civillian criticism of the military caused by the practice of billeting soldiers upon the inhabitants of the town in which they were stationed. The source notes that although Hawksmoor was probably the designer of the barracks that there is no evidence of him overseeing its execution on site. (6c)

The updated 1992 edition of the classic Pevsner volume in the "Buildings of England" series for Northumbria gives an architectural description of the barracks and also discusses the issues surrounding its design and execution. Although Hawksmoor was probably the designer, the The Board appointed Andrews Jelfe in 1719 to actually execute the design and his on-site representative was Captain Thomas Phillips. (6d)

The English Heritage guidebook on Bewick Barracks and Fortifications published in 2011 contains a "tour" of the relevant buildings and features along with a history of their development. It is illustrated with plans, maps and historical images. The need for the barracks was driven by a Jacobite rising in 1715. The barracks were begun in 1717 and completed in 1721. The design for the barracks was adapted from drawings made by the noted architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. The body governing the building programme, the Board of Ordnance, found the initial design too flamboyant and it was changed by the engineer who actually overwsaw the building, Captain Thomas Phillips. It was deliberatly sited in a little-developed area of the town and so was seperate from the civillian town. it comprised four blocks of buildings around a square , with the main entrance block to the north side. The barracks were altered later, with the construction of the Clock Block from 1739-41, which replaced a smaller building on the south side. Away from the main barracks in Ravensdowne a small military hosptial was built in about 1745 (this is now a townhouse). A gymnasium was added to the east of the barracks in 1901. The guide makes the point that although the exterior and plan of the Georgian Barracks are very elegant, life for the ordinary soldiers housed there was tough, cramped and insanitary (6e)

Barrack and officers' block. 1719-21, probably by Nicholas Hawksmoor, for the Board of Ordnance. Part of the earliest planned barrack complex in England, pre-dating most other English barracks by nearly 80 years, because of the need for a permanent garrison near the Scottish border. This plan is typical of the 17th century and early 18th century. One of a group of Ordnance buildings from this period associated with Hawksmoor and Vanbrugh. (6f)