Former Riding School (Building 18) Higher Barracks

This is a former riding school, now used as a store, built in 1794 as part of the Barrack Department’s construction program. It is located within the Higher Barracks complex in Exeter. The building is constructed of Flemish bond brick with an artificial slate roof and has a rectangular plan.

The exterior is a single-story, five-bay range, distinguished by round-arched recesses linked by an impost band, with modern metal-glazed windows in each recess. The end bay originally contained a tripartite window above an entrance, now covered by a mid-20th century flat-roofed shed.

The interior features curved lower walls, designed to protect against falling horses, and a ceiling. Historically, riding schools were standard components of cavalry barracks, used for drill and maneuvers. This is one of the oldest known examples in England, along with a similar structure in Dorchester, Dorset. The riding school is considered a significant and complete example of its type and is part of a group of buildings that originally comprised the cavalry barracks.