Dockyard Canteen

The Dockyard Canteen, built around 1902 by Sir Henry Pilkington, is a disused drill block and offices located in Gillingham. The building is constructed of brick with brick and Portland stone dressings, topped by a slate cross-gabled roof.

The structure has a rectangular plan with cross-axial end blocks and stands two storeys tall with an attic. The exterior features eleven windows on the ends and sixteen on the west elevation, presenting a symmetrical appearance with matching end sections. It includes a plinth, a first-floor brick cill band, and a brick cornice with flat vertical brackets and moulded eaves. The ends have projecting gables with two windows and canted sides, separated by a three-window entrance section that features a wide round arch on stone springers, a raised keystone, voussoirs, and a wrought-iron balcony railing above recessed half-glazed doors. To the east, a two-window section extends.

The main elevation mirrors the gabled ends, flanked by three-storey canted towers with banded brick and Portland stone at the parapeted top storey, which includes keyed oculi. Between the towers, there is a six-window section, with two later single-storey gabled two-window blocks added in the middle. The windows are fitted with rubbed brick segmental arches and 4/4-pane sashes, paired on the west front with the towers, and there are keyed lunettes in the gables. The ridge of the long range is adorned with two square lanterns topped with pyramidal roofs.

The interior has not been inspected. The Dockyard Canteen is part of a complete early 20th-century barracks complex that includes the Captain's House, mess block, barracks, and walls.