More information : The former Royal Marines School of Music originally consisted of a group of buildings that were constructed between 1794 and 1812 as barracks for the Royal Marines. It became Admiralty property in 1869. The buildings housed the Royal Naval School of Music from 1930, and in 1950 were renamed the Royal Marines School of Music.
In 1989 a bomb attack by the IRA killed 11 of the musicians from The Royal Marines School of Music in the East Barracks. A Memorial Bandstand was erected in their honour in 1993 on Walmer Green.
A government decision to close the military base saw the Marines being relocated to Portsmouth in 1996 where the School operates still.
The group of buildings that comprise the former Royal Marines School of Music consist of four barracks. The East Barracks were built in 1795 and was the site of the naval hospital and was rebuilt in 1812 after the building was struck by lightening. Four houses known as the Royal Buildings to the south of the barracks were constructed for senior staff and in the late 19th century buildings were added to the west of the barracks for the Royal Marines Depot. The South Barracks were the home of the cavalry and infantry units from 1795 and the site eventually included the barracks church of St Michael’s and All Angels which was consecrated in 1907. The North Barracks were also constructed in 1795 and were designed as a military hospital but were used instead only as barracks. The site includes officer’s houses and a guardhouse that was built on the northern boundary of the barracks between 1810 and 1830. There is also a military cemetery along the western wall of the barracks and a Memorial Garden which marks the site of the IRA bombing in 1989. The Infirmary Barracks opened in 1900 and remained in use until 1988. (1)
The main building of the former Royal Marines School of Music, The Strand, consists of three storeys and is made up of stock brick and features a hipped slate roof. There is a pediment with a curved brick arch which is surmounted by a cupola. There is also a Tuscan porch with entablature and four Tuscan columns. (2)
The Royal Marines School of Music (3), the Wall, Gates and Lodges to the East Barracks (4) and the East Barracks (5) are grade II listed buildings and form a group. For further details on their designation see the statutory data.
At the time of amending this record in 2012, access to information on the designations noted in source 3 above are available via the National Heritage List for England. (6, 7, 8)
According to English Heritage’s Corporate GIS the building lies in a Conservation Area. The National Grid Reference for the site is: TR3768451982 (9) |