Dale Barracks

Dale Barracks is a military installation at Upton near Chester.

Dale Barracks
Chester
Military Training Ground near Dale Barracks
Dale Barracks
Location within Cheshire
Coordinates53°13′31″N 02°53′42″W
TypeBarracks
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1939
In use1939-1956
1987-Present

History

The barracks are situated in the grounds of Moston Hall, a house built in 1789 for Richard Massey.[1] The house was acquired by the Swetenham family who sold it to the Lockett family in 1918.[2] During the First World War, the house was used as a military hospital.[3][4]

The rest of the site was occupied by a house known as The Dale which was built in the 1880s and was bought by the War Office in 1938.[2] The Dale became the depot of the Cheshire Regiment who arrived from Chester Castle in 1939.[5] During Second World War the Machine Gun Training Centre was established there and after the War it became a Primary Training Centre for infantry training.[5] Between 1956 and 1987 the Dale was used as a secure asylum after which it was returned to military use as the officer's mess for the barracks of the 1st Battalion the King's Regiment.[5]

The 1st Battalion Royal Welsh moved out of the barracks in April 2014[6] and the 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment arrived in July 2014.[7] The 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment itself left in Summer 2018 and was replaced by 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment which arrived in November 2018.[8]

In November 2016 the Ministry of Defence announced that the site would close in 2023.[9]

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References
  1. "Moston Hall". Parks and Gardens. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  2. "Moston Hall". History of Upton by Chester. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  3. "Chapel of the Military Hospital (Moston Hall)". National Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. "Faculty of Health and Social Care Riverside Museum". Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  5. "Military & Wartime Activities during the 20th Century" (PDF). History of Upton by Chester. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  6. "Royal Welsh bids farewell to Dale Camp". Chester Chronicle. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  7. "Dale Barracks Chester welcomes 2 Mercian Regiment". Chester Chronicle. Ministry of Defence. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. "How the Army moved an entire battalion from Cyprus to Chester". Cheshire Live. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  9. "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
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