Buckingham Gate drill halls

The Buckingham Gate drill halls were military installations at 58 and 59 Buckingham Gate, London.

Buckingham Gate drill halls
London
58 (centre) and 59 (beyond) Buckingham Gate
Buckingham Gate drill halls
Location within London
Coordinates51.49815°N 0.13641°W / 51.49815; -0.13641
TypeDrill halls
Site history
Built1886
Built forWar Office
In use1886-Present

History

58 Buckingham Gate

The building was designed as the headquarters of the 13th Middlesex (Queen's Westminster) Volunteer Rifle Corps and completed in 1886.[1] That unit became the 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles) in 1908.[2] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front.[3]

In 1937, on the break-up of the London Regiment, the unit based at the drill hall was redesignated the Queen's Westminsters, King's Royal Rifle Corps.[4] The regiment amalgamated with the Queen Victoria's Rifles in 1961[4] and moved out to the Davies Street drill hall.[2]

In the 1970s the drill hall was used by the Army Cadet Force Association[5] and, in the late 20th century, it was used extensively by the Metropolitan Police Service.[6] It still survives and is currently used as a conference facility.[7]

59 Buckingham Gate

The building was designed by John Macvicar Anderson as the headquarters of the 7th (London Scottish) Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps[8] and was opened by the Duke of Cambridge in July 1886.[9] From 1899 to 1901 the All England Open Badminton Championships were held in the drill hall.[10] The 7th (London Scottish) Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps became the 14th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Scottish) in 1908.[2]

In May 1912 the drill hall was used as the location for the inquiry into the sinking of RMS Titanic.[11]

In August 1914, the 14th (County of London) Battalion was mobilised at the drill hall before being deployed to the Western Front.[3] In 1937, on the break-up of the London Regiment, the unit based at the drill hall was re-designated as The London Scottish, The Gordon Highlanders.[12]

In April 1944, during the Second World War, Princess Elizabeth visited a Sea Scouts exhibition at the drill hall.[13] In 1947 the regiment was reconstituted but with its headquarters still at the drill hall.[14]

The drill hall was demolished in 1985[15] and parts of the structure, including the wrought-iron roof, the double-level iron galleries and the war memorials, were relocated to the new Horseferry Road drill hall.[8] The Buckingham Gate site has since been redeveloped for offices and the Swire Group now occupies the office block on the site.[16]

References
  1. Osborne, p.247
  2. "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.
  3. "The London Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. "The Queen's Westminsters". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "The Queen's Regiment Magazine - March 1973". Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  6. "Metropolitan Police Service". View.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. "58 Buckingham Gate" (PDF). Tuckerman. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  8. "London Scottish Regimental Headquarters, Drill Hall, 59 Buckingham Gate, Marylebone St Johns Wood And Mayfair, Greater London". Historic England. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  9. "Opening by the Duke of Cambridge of the New Head-Quarters and Drill-Hall of the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers". Look and Learn. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  10. Uber, Betty (2011). A Brief History of Badminton from 1870 to 1949. Read Books. ISBN 978-1447437437.
  11. Gibson, Allen (2012). The Unsinkable Titanic. The History Press. ISBN 978-0752467856.
  12. "A Company history". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  13. "Princess Elizabeth visits Sea Scouts exhibition at the London Scottish Drill Hall, Buckingham Gate". Royal Collection. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  14. "The London Scottish". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  15. "London Scottish Regiment H.Q." Plaques of London. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  16. "Offices". John Swire & Sons. Retrieved 28 May 2017.

Sources
  • Osborne, Mike (2006). Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Forces. Partizan Press. ISBN 978-1858185095.
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