Guard House, Boundary Wall And Attached Ancillary Buildings, Maker Heights Barracks

Guard House, Boundary Wall and Attached Ancillary Buildings, Maker Heights Barracks

This is a defensible barracks complex comprising a perimeter wall with caponier and multiple ancillary buildings, dating from 1804–8, built by the Ordnance Board. It was further modified and extended in 1848 and 1850–60, including a caponier and stables in 1848 and a gun shed in 1850–60.

The perimeter wall is a coped rubble enclosure wall extending approximately 150 metres along the north-east side, returning south-west at both north and south ends to form the barracks perimeter. A small caponier of 1848 is positioned at the north-west corner, fitted with rifle slits on each side. A length of rubble wall extending about 30 metres south-west from here divides off the north-west corner. In the north-east corner stands a rubble wash house with two windows, with a stack, built against the perimeter wall. A later gateway has been broken through to the centre. At the south-west return is a hipped engine house, open to the south-west elevation.

The building at the south-west corner comprises a coal yard and linen store (1804–8) along the north-west side, extended in 1848 to the south-east with stores and barrack sergeant's quarters. Built of roughly squared rubble, partly rendered, with brick dressings, it was roofless at survey. The outer north-east building forms the end of the perimeter wall and features a wide segmental-arched carriage entrance with brick dressings and raking sides with a later cast-iron inserted roof. A small lean-to linen store is attached to the rear. The 1848 extension to the south-east is narrow and roofless, rendered to front and sides with coped end gables each containing a doorway and single first-floor windows. An external flight of cantilevered granite steps with iron railings ascends to a first-floor doorway. The interior of the outer store contains two vertical slate strips marked with unidentified characters.

Along the north-east boundary, attached to its south-west side, are several buildings included in the listing, described from north-west to south-east:

The straw store is built of stone rubble with a hipped slate roof. Its front elevation features a wide doorway, partially blocked by rubble infill with brick dressings to a plank door, flanked by horned 6-over-6 pane sashes.

The officer's stables are of sandstone rubble with stone dressings and slate roof, with a single room plan. The two-storey, two-window range has a symmetrical front with flat arches to a doorway (inscribed 1848 above) and blocked windows on each side and to the hay loft above. A small opening to the loft is cut into the coped gable ends. The interior is divided into three sections by timber stall dividers, each fitted with an iron hay basket and trap doors opening upwards to the loft.

The gun shed, dating from the 1850s, is built of coursed Plymouth limestone with brick dressings and corrugated iron roof. It has ashlar piers to the front; it was formerly open but is now blocked with early 20th-century outer brick and segmental-arched plank doors.

The magazine, converted to a store in the 1860s, is of roughly squared rubble with limestone dressings, brick interior lining, and slate roof, with a single-room plan. It features a small powder store with a cobbled apron, coped pediment gables and string, a round-arched entrance with rebate for a boarded door, and an ashlar arch. Narrow ventilation slits pierce the thick walls. An attached ashlar doorway with flat lintel leads to a space between the rear and perimeter wall. Although magazines were usually included within barracks of this period, this is the only known example apart from the 1840s Hillsborough Barracks, Sheffield.

The guard house and lock-up occupy the south-east corner of the perimeter. Built of rubble, partly rebuilt with brick, with brick ridge stack and slate hipped roof, it has a rectangular plan formerly with a stone-made (astomade) to the south-west front and a former officers' guard room to the north-west. The hipped roof extends over a matching projection to the right (south-west), which is probably late 19th-century and is not shown in the 1848 plan. The single-storey, three-window range has a symmetrical front with recessed centre fronted by a verandah. The right-hand side is rebuilt in brick. Each side has a segmental-arched opening and a central timber post below the eaves to the middle, in front of a plain doorway. The sides have small upper lights to cells with small-paned windows. The interior contains a guard room with a cell off, retaining its original door, wooden panelling, and fireplace.

This barracks was built to house over 200 infantry to protect Maker Heights, overlooking Devonport Dockyard. It served the garrison manning the line of 1782 redoubts Nos 1–4 (Scheduled Ancient Monument). This is the most complete and unaltered small garrison barracks from this significant period and includes many of its ancillary buildings within a defensible site.