TQ 7556 SE MAIDSTONE SANDLING ROAD (West side) 883/4/335 Officers' Quarters, Maidstone, Former Cavalry 02.08.1974 Barracks II* Officers' quarters and mess at cavalry barracks; disused, c1797 -98, by the Barrack Department; Localisation depot from 1874, Timber balloon frame clad in weather board with brick ridge stacks and rear extension, and slate hipped roof. PLAN: E-shaped plan in 3 sections with double-depth rooms openig each side off transverse stairs and rear services, EXTERIOR: 2 storeys; 9-Window range. A symmetrical front divided into three sections, the middle one 3 storeys with a pediment, each with central doorways with good decorative iron overlights and panelled doors, and 6/6-pane sashes. Right-hand return has a deep canted bay to the mess room, Service bays run back at either end with a C19 brick extension at the right, and a central rear projection has a hipped roof. INTERIOR: not inspected, but reported to contain heated officers' rooms with shelving and boot racks, and dogleg stairs up from each entrance. HISTORY: formed the centrepiece to the cavalry barracks overlooking the square, flanked by the men's barracks which in 1806 held 450 men. The three sections contained the CO's quarters to the left, rooms for some 11 officers and their servants, with right-hand mess and ante rooms. The Department built the first army barracks in England for large numbers of cavalry , infantry , and militia during the French wars; most were dismantled afterwards. This is the only known example to have survived of a large timber barracks, and is the only cavalry officers' quarters from this highly significant period. Listing NGR: TQ7580856440