Braganza Street drill hall
The Braganza Street drill hall is a military installation in Braganza Street, Walworth.
Braganza Street drill hall | |
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Kennington, London | |
Braganza Street drill hall | |
Braganza Street drill hall Location within London | |
Coordinates | 51.48748°N 0.10278°W |
Type | Drill Hall |
Site history | |
Built | 1865 |
Built for | War Office |
In use | 1865-Present |
History
The building originates from a pair of houses built in what was then known as New Street in 1833 and which were acquired by the 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1865.[1] The 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps evolved to become the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) in 1883[2][3] and the 24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen’s) in 1908.[4] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front.[5] When the London Regiment was broken up in 1937, the battalion became the 7th (Southwark) Battalion, the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey).[2] The drill hall, in what was by then known as Braganza Street, was substantially re-built at that time and the enlarged facility was opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 1938.[1]
After the war the battalion converted to artillery and, in 1947, became the 622nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery.[2] After the Royal Artillery went through a re-organisation and vacated the hall, a new field hospital, 217 (London) General Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps, was formed at the Braganza Street drill hall in 1967.[4] That unit amalgamated with other field hospitals in 1995 to form 256 (City of London) Field Hospital[6] and the drill hall is now the regimental headquarters of that unit.[4]
References
- Osborne, Mike (2012). Defending London: A Military History from Conquest to Cold War. History Press. ISBN 978-0752479316.
- "24th London Regiment (The Queen's)". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- "The Surrey Rifle Volunteers 1859 - 1908". Queen's Royal Surreys. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- "Drill Hall Register: A list of the locations of London Drill Halls since 1908" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- "The London Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- "The Royal Army Medical Corps". Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Greater London. Retrieved 29 May 2017.