Wellington Barracks
{{Short description|Barracks of the British Army in Westminster, London}}
{{About||the building in Hong Kong|Wellington Barracks, Hong Kong|the former barracks in Dublin|Griffith Barracks|the building in Bury|Wellington Barracks, Bury}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Wellington Barracks
|image=London , Westminster - Wellington Barracks - geograph.org.uk - 1739568.jpg
|caption = Wellington Barracks
|type = Barracks
|map_type = Greater London
|pushpin_map_caption = Location within London
|location = London
|coordinates = {{coord|51|29|59|N|0|8|16|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|ownership = Ministry of Defence
|operator = {{army|United Kingdom}}
|built = 1833
|used=1833–present
|architect =
|built_for = War Office
|garrison =
|occupants = Grenadier Guards
Coldstream Guards
Scots Guards
|designations = Grade II listed building
}}
Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards battalions on public duties in that area. The building is located about {{convert|300|yard}} from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to reach the palace very quickly in an emergency, and lies between Birdcage Walk and Petty France. Three companies are based at the barracks, as well as all of the Foot Guards bands and the regimental headquarters.
History
Wellington Barracks were designed by Sir Francis Smith and Philip Hardwick and opened in 1833.{{cite web |url=http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/run_routes_01_index.html |title=The Three Parks – Daylight Route |website=The Serpentine |access-date=20 May 2012}} The Guards' Chapel was rebuilt in the 1960s after the original chapel was destroyed by a V-1 flying bomb in World War II.{{cite book| last=Humphreys| first=Rob| title=The Rough Guide to London| url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetolond0000unse_h8h3/page/66/mode/2up?q=wellington+barracks| page=66| year=2016| publisher=Rough Guides| isbn=978-0-2411-9910-7}} On 31 August 2007, the two sons of Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry, organised a memorial service in the chapel, marking the 10th anniversary of their mother's death.{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1561780/Princes-lead-Diana-memorial-service-tributes.html|title=Princes lead Diana memorial service tributes| newspaper=The Daily Telegraph| location=London| date=31 August 2007| access-date=20 May 2012}} The Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards currently have a company based at the barracks.{{cite web| url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2011-01-26a.35889.h| title=Armed Forces| publisher=Hansard| date=26 January 2011| access-date=20 April 2014}}
The building is Grade II listed, along with the gates and railings.{{cite web| url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1218567| title=Wellington Barracks Main Centre Block With East and West Wings (1218567)| website=English Heritage| access-date=24 May 2019}}{{cite web| url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1066439| title=Wellington Barracks East Guardhouse (1066439)| website=English Heritage| access-date=24 May 2019}}{{cite web| url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1066440| title=Wellington Barracks West Guardhouse (1066440)| website=English Heritage| access-date=24 May 2019}}{{cite web| url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1218583| title=Wellington Barracks Railings and East and West Gates to Birdcage Walk (1218583)| website=English Heritage| access-date=24 May 2019}}
Amenities
Wellington Barracks has many amenities open to those working and living within the barracks. There is a bar for the junior ranks, which has many games available including horse racing and snooker tables. The Cost Cutter shop and a self-serve restaurant, a masseur and mess are located here. There is a single serving personnel room with Internet access available, as well as an interactive learning facility open to all serving soldiers and their dependants. Elsewhere there is an officers' mess, sergeants' mess, and a gymnasium with squash courts. The Guards Museum houses a collection of uniforms, colours and artefacts spanning over three hundred years of history of the Foot Guards. The Flanders Fields Memorial Garden is situated in the barracks, adjacent to the Guards' Chapel.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29929463 |title=The Queen leads remembrance events in London |website=BBC News |date=6 November 2014 |access-date=6 November 2014}}
References
{{reflist}}
Category:Installations of the British Army
Category:Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Category:National government buildings in London
Category:Guards Division (United Kingdom)
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1833
Category:19th-century architecture in the United Kingdom
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