Millbank Barracks South West Range, Royal Army Medical College

Barrack block, built around 1898 by the Royal Engineers for the Royal Army Medical Corps. The building is constructed of red brick with Portland stone quoins and dressings, featuring a gabled slate roof with tall brick stacks, primarily located along the rear elevation. It has a rectangular plan and a four-story northeast elevation, with windows arranged in a 2:3:3:3:2 pattern, punctuated by two-window projecting and pedimented outer wings and a three-window central wing of one-window depth. A plat band marks the stone ground floor, with arched ground-floor windows brought forward under a balustrade. A segmental-pedimented Doric doorcase is centrally positioned. The central block features keyed oculi (with a clock in the center) above the first-floor windows, and royal arms in the tympanum of the pediment. Eight/12-pane sash windows are set within Gibbs surrounds on the first floor (pedimented on projecting bays and with cornices on other bays), while other floors have stone surrounds. The return elevations have a similar treatment, with stacks rising above open-pedimented and slightly projecting central bays. Pedimented end bays flank the rear elevations, displaying similar windows articulated into bays by the strong treatment of lateral stacks. The block is flanked by single-story ranges on either side; a brick former guardhouse is to the right, featuring glazing bar sashes and a taller hipped range adjoining the entrance from John Islip Street. To the left is a stone-faced former mess block with a pedimented return and a principal four-bay front incorporating casement windows and two doorways set into an arcade with impost blocks and a cornice that extends to a rendered projection on the right. The interior was not inspected. The married quarters and barrack blocks enclose the north-facing parade ground. Drawings for the married quarters, signed by CM Watson, the Inspector General of Fortifications, in 1898, suggest that both barracks blocks were likely built to provide accommodation linked to the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital (opened 1905), which was constructed on the north part of the Millbank Penitentiary Site. They share characteristics with barracks architecture in their planning but are more elaborate in articulation and architectural quality than other contemporary designs, comparable to Peninsula Barracks in Winchester. They are included for their architectural quality and interest as part of this important group, demonstrating group value.