Main Gate And Perimeter Walls, Marine Gate

The main gate and perimeter walls form part of the former Royal Marines Eastney Barracks, dating to 1862-7 and designed by William Scamp for the Admiralty Works Department. The walls enclose a rectangular area, with the main gate positioned in the western wall, and the eastern wall broken by two 20th-century roads. A short section of wall, approximately 15 metres long, exists on the south side, terminating in large square piers at each end.

The main gate is flanked by banded brick piers, each featuring an ashlar hanging style and frieze beneath a pedimented capstone that supports a large iron lamp standard with a finialed rounded cap. Pedestrian archways are located to either side of the gate; an eaves frieze and plain cornice extend from the piers, and outward-pointing ashlar mortar is present. The remainder of the wall is constructed of flint rubble with red brick bands, quoined pilaster strips, and stepped rounded coping. Horizontal gun apertures with stone lintels are spaced approximately 1 metre apart.

The piers at the southern wall's ends have quadrant steps leading to a round archway on the inner face, with slits on the north and south faces. They also feature a band below a massive, roll-moulded, stepped pyramidal capstone. The west-side pier includes a low screen wall; formerly topped with inward-pointing ashlar mortar and a pile of mortar balls, these have been removed.

Historically, the walls defined the perimeter of the Marines barracks and illustrate the defensive nature of the site. The barracks were likely the last large defensible buildings constructed in the country, designed against external threats rather than civil order duties, and represent a significant example of post-Crimean War barracks construction.