Officers Quarters, Maidstone Former Cavalry Barracks

The Officers' Quarters and mess at the former cavalry barracks in Maidstone were built around 1797-1798 by the Barrack Department and are currently disused. Originally serving as a localization depot from 1874, the structure features a timber balloon frame clad in weatherboard, with brick ridge stacks and a rear extension, topped by a slate hipped roof.

The building has an E-shaped plan consisting of three sections, with double-depth rooms opening off transverse stairs and rear services. It stands two storeys high and has a nine-window range. The symmetrical front is divided into three sections, with the central section rising to three storeys and featuring a pediment. Each section has central doorways adorned with decorative iron overlights and panelled doors, along with 6/6-pane sash windows. The right-hand return includes a deep canted bay for the mess room, while service bays extend back at either end, with a 19th-century brick extension on the right and a central rear projection that has a hipped roof.

Although the interior has not been inspected, it is reported to contain heated officers' rooms equipped with shelving and boot racks, as well as dogleg stairs leading up from each entrance. Historically, this building was the centerpiece of the cavalry barracks, overlooking the square and flanked by the men's barracks, which housed 450 men in 1806. The three sections included the commanding officer's quarters on the left, rooms for approximately 11 officers and their servants, and the mess and ante rooms on the right. The Department constructed the first army barracks in England to accommodate large numbers of cavalry, infantry, and militia during the French wars, most of which were dismantled afterward. This structure is the only known surviving example of a large timber barracks and is the only cavalry officers' quarters from this significant period.