Monument record TQ 67 SE 1171 - Milton Barracks, Wellington Street, Gravesend, Kent

20th century use of Milton Barracks built in the 1860s off, and entered from, the eastern side of Wellington Street, Gravesend, Kent. Its rectangular yellow-brick walled enclosure contained in the south part of the site, 20 single-storey brick barrack blocks in two parallel rows, an armoury and an officers mess. There was an open space with playing fields to the north, divided from the barracks by a general parade ground. A brick hospital was added in the NE corner of the enclosure by 1870 and in the 20th century single storey garages for motor vehicles as well as vehicle workshops and in the 1920s and 30s a new two-storey brick officers' mess (later used as a NAAFI). The barracks were regularly garrisoned by visiting - usually infantry - units until closure in 1970s. For most of the First World War the barracks were used as a district recruiting unit and in 1917 as a hospital. After the war it resumed its function as an infantry depot. During the second World War the barracks were used variously as a training and holding depot, a headquarters for local anti-invasion units and for the storage of vehicles, guns and equipment. Some temporary barrack huts were added on the east side of the enclosure to accommodate an increased personnel presence on the site. During the Cold War the barracks were used for a time as an anti-aircraft defence brigade headquarters. Demolition began in the 1980s to make way for residential housing. Part of the perimeter wall survives, together with the old and new officers mess, gynmasium, armoury and a 19th century raised water tank.
Owner : Unknown
Publicly accessible : Yes
How accessed for survey : The remaining features of the barracks can be seen from the streets and paths of the housing development
Tourism Potential : None
Condition : Very poor
Date of visit : 03/09/07

The site of Milton Barracks in Gravesend built between 1860 and 1862. It consisted of a range of brick buildings including officers' quarters, stables, a guard house, armoury, hospital, gymnasium, mess halls, stores, a school room, shops (shoemaker and tailor) and a range of quarters to accommodate up to one thousand men, including married quarters. Milton Barracks was not initially used as a permanent garrison but as a temporary camp for troops undergoing rifle training on the nearby Milton Rifle Range (between the Thames and Medway canal and the River Thames). It later become an Infantry Depot, however in 1917, during the First World War, it became an Auxiliary Military Hospital Unit. In 1938 the stables were removed and were replaced by workshops for motorised vehicles. Between 1939 and 1957 Milton Barracks was used as a Training and Holding Depot and in early 1940 Camp E5, consisting of twenty Nissen Huts, was added to the east side of the camp, in anticipation of an increase in troop numbers to be stationed there. From 1945 to 1957 Milton Barracks was designated the 30th Reinforcement Holding Unit and in 1960 it was closed by the War Department and sold to Kent Council in 1970. Part of the site was sold for a private housing development in the 1980s and a Sikh Gudwara temple was built on the site in 2006-7. Apart from the armoury and gymnasium, there are few surviving physical remains of the barracks. A number of regiments were posted to Milton Barracks or passed through as part of rifle training, including The Somerset & Cornwall Light Infantry between 1908 and 1911 and again from 1965 to 1968. (1)
The 1st Battalion of the Somerset & Cornwall Light Infantry consisting of 767 officers and men was first posted to Milton Barracks on 14th October 1908. They stayed there for nearly three years before being transferred to Tidworth and were considered one of the most popular regiments to be stationed at Gravesend. They returned 54 years later as part of the "ready" brigade first on standby to be deployed anywhere within 72 hours and therefore spent some of their time at Milton away on regular exercises. The barracks were not very popular with the regiment as they were considered to be old and in a poor condition with old-fashioned wooden huts dating from the Second World War. (1)
Barracks at Gravesend may date back to before the Crimean War as they are mentioned in the 1847 Return from each barrack in the United Kingdom. However, this may refer to New Tavern Fort at Milton Place in Gravesend. (2)
The Milton Barracks appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Historic Map Series Epoch 1 for Kent published in 1874. (3)
The site is now occupied by the new Gurdwara Sikh temple. (1)
National Grid Reference TQ6535373679 (centroid of the object) identified by digital ordnance survey mapping. (4)
The Barracks were not closed in 1960. The 1st Bn Scots Guards were stationed there up to 1962 and Inniskillin fusiliers were the next regiment to occupy the barracks. (5)

John Milbank Jones, The History of Milton Barracks Gravesend (Undated but probably c. 1985) (Bibliographic reference). SKE14091.

John Milbank Jones, The History of Milton Barracks Gravesend (Undated but probably c. 1985) (Bibliographic reference). Ske14091.

<1> Peter Higginbotham, Higginbotham, Peter. 2000. The Workhouse. (Website). SKE53741.

<2> English Heritage, 1998, British Barracks 1600 - 1914 Their Architecture and Role in Society (Bibliographic reference). SKE7649.

<3> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 1st edition 1862-1875): Landmark Epoch 1 (Map). SKE30964.

<4> 2007, 1:1250, 2007 (Unspecified Type). SKE58790.

<5> 2026, Email correspondence 14-FEB-2016 (Verbal communication). SKE58791.