Fort Monckton: The Former Officers' Mess

Former Officers’ Mess, built in about the early C19 with early C20 additions.

MATERIALS: Red brick laid in Flemish bond and stone dressings, partly rendered.

PLAN: an early C19 rectangular single-storey range adjoined at the north by an early C20 T-shaped single-storey range, together forming a cruciform plan. A lean-to and flat-roofed toilet block is attached at the west, a lean-to porch adjoins to the east, and a small gabled addition extends to the north.

EXTERIOR: the early C19 building is orientated north-south. It comprises a rendered gabled range, two bays wide and four bays long, adjoined by a lower red brick gabled range which is three bays long, now built into the cross-wing of the early C20 building. The rendered south range has a plinth, angle pilasters and six-over-six round-headed horned sash windows. A round-headed doorway with a transom light is set into the first bay of the east elevation. There is a gabled slate roof with stone copings and a chimney stack with a clay chimney pot at the apex of the south wall. The lower adjoining range is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond and has round-headed sash windows with gauged brick arches and a slate roof. The west elevation comprises two round-headed sashes and the adjoining flat-roofed early C20 toilet block. At the east is the main doorway, set under a lean-to porch at the south-east angle with the adjoining cross-wing.

The early C20 range is an irregular composition attached to the north of the earlier building. It is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond to a T-shaped plan, comprising a gabled cross-wing and gabled north wing. There are slate roofs, brick copings to the gables and corbelled red brick chimney stacks with clay chimney pots.

The cross wing is three bays wide with three round-headed sashes in the east elevation and a single round-headed sash at the west. There is a single-storey red brick toilet block with a flat roof set into the south-west angle with the earlier range. It is blank, without openings, except for a square-headed doorway containing a timber door with a door light. The north wing is six bays long and four bays wide with round-headed and square-headed sash windows. A slate-covered lean-to extends from the west wall and comprises two bays of square-headed sashes. At the north is a small gabled addition with square-headed sashes.

INTERIOR: not inspected.