Former School Room, Royal Artillery Barracks (also known as Le Cateau Barracks)

The Former School Room at the Royal Artillery Barracks, also known as Le Cateau Barracks, is a school room that was later used as an office. It was built between 1874 and 1875, designed by Lieutenant General Charles Brisbane Ewart, who was the Deputy Director of Works for Barracks at the War Office.

The building is constructed from red brick, featuring yellow brick and limestone dressings, and has a slate roof. It has a single-depth plan and is a single storey with a six-window range. The exterior includes a yellow brick plinth, cill and lintel bands, and a brick eaves cornice, with coped end gables. The windows are round-arched with small-paned metal frames, and there is a central flat-headed doorway. The end gables have windows with upper oculus, while the rear elevation is blind.

This school room is notable as one of the earliest of its kind at an English barracks, following the example set by the school room at Lower Barracks in Winchester. Such facilities were introduced in the 1840s to improve the education of troops and to provide schooling for soldiers' children. The Le Cateau Royal Artillery Barracks were the second permanent barracks established in Colchester, following the nearby Cavalry Barracks built between 1862 and 1864. The school room is part of the barracks complex and is recognized as a rare early example of a military school room.