Woolwich Garrison (now referred to as Woolwich Station) is a garrison or station of the British Army. Geographically it is in Woolwich, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In terms of command, it is within the Army's London District. At its largest, the garrison oversaw two division headquarters plus supporting units and around 7 battalions. Over the course of the 20th century the garrison began to diminish in size and importance, and much of its land and buildings were sold. In April 2001, the garrison reduced to a station, and Central Volunteer Headquarters, Royal Artillery, took over the role of HQ. Nevertheless, Royal Artillery Barracks continued to serve as the headquarters of the Royal Artillery until 2007, when it moved to Larkhill Garrison, since when other units have been based within the barracks and at nearby Napier Lines. The army is scheduled to leave Woolwich in 2028 (though in 2020 it was announced that, contrary to earlier indications, the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, will remain).
Historical overview
There has been a military presence in Woolwich since at least the 16th century, when troops would have been engaged in defending Woolwich Dockyard (also known as The King's Yard). What gave the town its distinctive military character, however, was the arrival of the Board of Ordnance. The Board first acquired land here (known as the Warren) in the 1670s; this evolved to become the Royal Arsenal, which was (among other things) the British Government's principal armaments manufacturing facility for over 200 years. The Board was a military as well as a civil office of state: the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Corps Of Royal Engineers were both military formations of the Board, raised in the early 18th century and only becoming part of the British Army in the 1850s. In 1776 the Royal Artillery moved out of its initial headquarters in the Warren into a new, purpose-built Royal Artillery Barracks just north of Woolwich Common. Subsequently, as a variety of military quarters, institutions and amenities sprang up the surrounding area, and a new garrison town began to emerge. Over time Woolwich Garrison has been composed of some or all of the following elements:
Royal Artillery Barracks
The barracks was built in 1774-76 and more than doubled in size after being extended in 1802–05. The blocks facing the parade ground housed artillery officers and troops; behind were a pair of quadrangles which provided accommodation for the Royal Horse Artillery, and beyond these another long block (built for the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers). In the 1950s and 60s most of the surviving original buildings were demolished and replaced with modern blocks, though the main south façade was retained. The area of land known as the Barrack Field, adjoining the common, was purchased together with the site for the barracks and used for various military purposes (recreational as well as operational). Alongside the parade ground a Gun Park was laid out for field gun drill exercises.
West of the Barracks
Royal Military Repository
In the 1770s, Captain (later Sir) William Congreve created a 'Repository of Military Machines' in the Warren: a collection of guns, mortars, models and other items used to teach gunners and engineers the history and practice of their craft. At the same time, he devised a set of practical training exercises, which were carried out under his supervision on open ground nearby; known as 'Repository Exercises', these involved manhandling heavy guns and equipment over 'Ditches, Ravines, Inclosures or Lines' designed to simulate challenges likely to be encountered in the field. In 1778 the Royal Military Repository was given formal recognition, and Repository Exercises became compulsory. In 1802 the building in the Warren burned down; but shortly afterwards Congreve re-established the Repository on recently acquired land just to the west of the Barrack Field. There, what became known as the 'Repository Grounds' (today Repository Woods) were laid out with trees, ditches, ravines, earthworks, and other structures in order to train troops in the movement of guns, ammunition and heavy equipment across difficult terrain. There were two large ponds, on which men were taught 'to lay pontoons, to transport artillery upon rafts, and all the different methods that can be adopted for the passage of troops across rivers, &c.'. In the 1820s an earthwork training fortification was added along the length of the eastern boundary, on which were mounted 'all the different sorts of cannon used in the defence of fortified towns'. On the southern part of the site, four long gun-carriage sheds were built in 1802-5 (the northernmost, with offices at either end, designed to accommodate items from the Repository's historic collection). To the north of the sheds, the Rotunda (previously erected at Carlton House to celebrate the peace of 1814) was rebuilt in 1820; it served to house the surviving model collection of the Royal Military Repository (which in the meantime had been on display in the old Academy in the Warren). In the 1880s it was still the case that all officers of the Artillery (including those of the Militia and Volunteers) had to pass a term of instruction at the Repository. The Rotunda by this time had been opened to the public as the Royal Artillery Museum. In 1890, the Royal Military Repository closed (much of its work having transferred to Shoeburyness). The Repository Woods remained in used for military training, however, through the 20th and into the 21st century.
Napier Lines
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