Sandhurst Block At Bourlon Barracks

Sandhurst Block at Bourlon Barracks

This is an army barrack block built in 1938 by the Designs Branch of the War Office, possibly designed by AG Sheppard-Fiddler. It stands at Bourlon Barracks, Catterick Garrison.

The building is constructed in red brick laid in stretcher bond with fine mortar joints, Portland Stone dressings, and Westmoreland slate roofs. The central clock tower incorporates lead, timber and copper elements. Cast iron rainwater goods, dated 1938, are marked with the Army crown.

The plan is a complex butterfly arrangement. Two mirrored U-shaped accommodation blocks are linked by a central block containing a large dining hall on the ground floor with further accommodation above. To the rear (north side) of the dining hall is a single-storey kitchen block, which is a later rebuild of the original. Principal staircases occupy either end of the central block, with smaller secondary stairs on the north side of each side wing, housed within northward projections containing toilets and ablution facilities. Corridors run along the north side of the wings with rooms on the south side. Originally the building contained a mixture of room sizes: large barrack sleeping rooms for enlisted men, smaller sleeping rooms for NCOs, and small sitting rooms and storage spaces. Many larger barrack rooms have since been subdivided. Short cross wings at the extremity of each side wing originally contained a single barrack room on each floor.

The dominant central block rises three storeys across 21 bays, with a square clock tower surmounting the centre where it breaks forward. A stone doorcase with arched canopy occupies the centre. The ground floor is rusticated at both angles and features wider arched windows. Above are rectangular windows with rubbed brick arches to the first floor and soldier courses beneath the eaves to the second. All sash windows have margin lights. A stone impost band runs across the front elevation and continues round the sides at lintel level. The eaves are deep and white-painted. The roof is hipped, laid in diminishing courses, with solitary chimneys punctuating the ridges. The rear of the central block has a projecting ground floor with arched windows flanking the kitchen extension, which has bathroom facilities above (the later kitchen extension is of no special interest). At either end of the central block, projecting staircases are lit by tall triple windows.

The attached barrack blocks match the central block in style and materials but are lower. The main south-facing elevations are 17 bays, with the end-most breaking forward to contain larger triple windows with balconies to the first floor openings. Stone doorcases occupy the centres. North-facing flat-roofed extensions of 9 bays project to the rear of each block with central paired doors.

The interior detailing is relatively simple compared to the exterior. Notable features include ramped handrails to the staircases with iron strip balustrades and solid brass ironmongery to the windows. The dining room is distinguished by structural beams augmented with cornicing to create a coffered ceiling effect. Original doorways into barrack rooms can typically be identified by the presence of mat wells, which are absent from later inserted doorways.

Built in 1938 as part of Catterick's Second Reconstruction Plan—a £1,000,000 scheme that also included extensive building at Gaza Barracks—the Sandhurst Block represented a new development in army accommodation. It provided sleeping, dining, washing and off-duty facilities for an entire infantry battalion of 646 men under one roof, whereas previously such accommodation had been divided into separate huts. Costing over £100,000, the block included modern amenities such as running hot water, central heating and generous lighting. Additional buildings were constructed as part of the scheme, of which only the Officers' Mess and the much-altered Sergeants' Mess survive.

The quality of construction and architectural detailing demonstrated that these were not emergency measures in response to the threat of war, but investments in the future of which the Army could be proud. Only 20 Sandhurst Blocks were built nationally between 1938 and 1941, some of which were smaller, simpler two-storey versions. By 2007, over half had been demolished or heavily extended, making the largely unaltered survival of six Sandhurst Blocks at Catterick remarkable. This is the finest example.

The very traditional architectural style, influenced by Sir Christopher Wren, is historically significant as it demonstrates how the British Army sought to reinforce a sense of tradition. There appears to have been no provision for air raid shelters either in a basement or in the surrounding grounds.