The Barracks Business Centre

The Barracks Business Centre is a former armoury, guard house, and store that has been converted into a public house. Built in 1878, it was designed by Major H.C. Seddon at the War Office and later extended at the rear in the mid-20th century. The building is constructed of brick with black brick dressings and features a flat ashlar roof in the Fortress Gothic Revival style. It has a square plan with corner stair towers at the front and a central rear section.

The exterior consists of three storeys and a four-storey tower, with a window arrangement of three, six, and three. It has a battered plinth, black bands at the cills and heads, a cornice, and a crenellated parapet. The windows are metal-framed with segmental-arched heads. The towers include sunken panels beneath pseudo-machicolations, a cornice, and a taller upper section with raised corners. The rear corners are also raised, and the mid-20th century tower at the back has a plain top.

Inside, the building features a fireproof interior supported by cast-iron columns and jack arches, along with winder stairs.

Historically, The Keep served as a secure armoury, store, and lock-up, representing the characteristic building of the Localisation depots established as part of the Cardwell reforms. These reforms aimed to redistribute barracks across the country to foster local connections and aid recruitment. The Barracks Business Centre is one of only ten surviving examples of this significant type of building, alongside a matching example in Bury St Edmunds.