Erskine Barracks

Erskine Barracks was a military installation at Fugglestone St Peter, in Wilton parish some 2 3⁄4 miles (4 km) northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England.

Erskine Barracks
Fugglestone St Peter
Erskine Barracks undergoing demolition
Erskine Barracks
Location within Wiltshire
Coordinates51°5′13″N 01°51′5″W
TypeBarracks
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1949
Built forWar Office
In use1949-2010
Garrison information
OccupantsHeadquarters Land Forces

The site, which had been farmland[1] until used for temporary army buildings during World War II, was acquired by the British Army for use as a headquarters for Southern Command in 1949.[1] The establishment was centred on Fugglestone Farmhouse[1] and an Ordnance Survey map of 1958 labels it as Fugglestone Camp.[2]

The barracks were later named after General Sir George Erskine,[3] who had been GOC Southern Command from 1955 until his retirement in 1958.[4] The site went on to become in 1968 the headquarters of Army Strategic Command, which was renamed UK Land Forces in 1972 and Land Command in 1995. On 1 April 2008 Land Command amalgamated with Headquarters Adjutant General under 'Project Hyperion' and became Land Forces.[5] Land Forces moved from Erskine Barracks to the former RAF Andover site now known as Marlborough Lines on 23 June 2010,[6] and the site became vacant.

At time, that the site covered 9.6 hectares to the north of the railway line and 3.8 hectares (less fully developed) to the south.[1] The former farmhouse had been demolished by 1968 and all standing structures were from 1950 or later.[1] In 2014 the headquarters building was described as "an impressive example of brutal modernism".[1]

Post-Army use

The site was sold to housebuilder Redrow in March 2013,[7] and all its buildings were demolished in 2014.[1] Besides housing, the site has Erskine House which provides 44 flats for former military personnel, and offers training for their return to civilian work.[8][9]

Legacy

The National Army Museum has a Bath stone fireplace salvaged during the demolition in 2001 of Bridge End House, a building of c.1900 used as an administrative block by the Army.[10]

During demolition in 2014, a photographic record of selected buildings – including the Sergeants' Mess and the Headquarters – was made by Wessex Archaeology to form a historic building record, as required by Wiltshire Council under a planning condition.[1] No archaeological features were found during a simultaneous watching brief.[1]

References
  1. "Erskine Barracks, The Avenue, Wilton, Wiltshire: Historic Building Record andArchaeological Watching Brief Report" (PDF). Archaeology Data Service. Wessex Archaeology. July 2014. doi:10.5284/1052624. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  2. "SU13 - Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1945-1969". National Library of Scotland. 1958. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. "Homes Fit For Heroes". Wilton Hill & Erskine Park Community Association. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  4. "Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine]". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. King's College London. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013.
  5. HQ Land Forces on the move Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Drumbeat, June 2008
  6. "Andover becomes HQ Land Forces on 23 June". Andover Advertiser. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  7. "Redrow to develop former Salisbury barracks site". Construction Index. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  8. "Veteran's Village Groundbreaking". Alabaré. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  9. "Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex officially opens Wilton's Entrain Space". Entrain Space. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  10. "Fireplace, from Bridge End House, Erskine Barracks, Wilton, 1900". National Army Museum, London. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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