Two Hundred Years of RMB Stonehouse
(This is a summary of a book that is in production by Lt Col Richard Dixon.)

The barracks in 1984 looking East to the Roscoff ferry (built on reclaimed land)

From the formation of the Corps in 1664 Maritime troops and marines were frequently quartered in Plymouth, between service abroad or on board ship. Following current custom, this was normally in the form of billeting on private householders and using inns as messes or orderly rooms. Depending upon the circumstances these billets would be in either Plymouth itself, then clustered about Sutton harbour, or Dock, as Devonport was then known. In time both the Navy and the Army built barracks in and around Plymouth and the marines would borrow these occasionally. In 1755 when Plymouth Division was formed the requirement to concentrate the accommodation was felt and the young division had a number of temporary homes. Men and officers were billeted in the Barbican area; the Orderly Room and Guard house being sited in Southside Street, whilst the Division paraded outside the Customs House on a spot still known as the Parade. Drill and manoeuvres were carried out on the Hoe. Later the Division occupied barracks on the outskirts of Dock and the officers mess was established in Marlborough Square. In the meantime Stonehouse village was developing. In its early years it was a tiny settlement built on a protruding peninsula between Stonehouse Creek which extended to Pennycomequick, and Millbay which went as far inland as the Octagon. During the 17th and early 18th centuries it became a prosperous little port, exporting agricultural produce from the Edgcumbe estates and corn from the tidal mills at Millbridge and Millbay. In 1762 the Royal Naval Hospital was completed and in 1769 Stonehouse Bridge was opened to join Dock and Plymouth by direct route. This allowed easier access to the one building than then existed on the Stonehouse promontory, other than military installations, the Longroom. This elegant assembly room, built in 1760, was well attended for balls and routs by the local gentry. Durnford Street was becoming a fashionable residential area for officers and civilians of the expanding Royal Dockyard at Devonport, and Stonehouse Village continued to prosper.

Choosing The Site

With the increase in strength of the Corps caused by the War with the American colonies, plus the inconvenience of the billeting system it was decided to search for a site for a barracks in the Plymouth area. The main criterion being the need for access to the sea; the Stonehouse promontory offered this. Initial sites were investigated to the east of RNH, where Stonehouse Creek penetrated into the hinterland, but these were counted as unsuitable for a variety of reasons. At last, in the area outside Stonehouse town walls, on the peninsula leading to the sea a suitable site was found. There was a well of sweet water that did not encroach on the local's supply, plenty of stone from the quarries at Millbay and Stonehouse hill and good access to the sea through Millbay. The design of the Barracks followed a pattern that was familiar throughout Britain in the late 18th century; indeed Chatham Barracks was identical. The plan (see plan 1) was of three accommodation blocks surrounding a parade ground whose western side was limited by only a guardroom, with railings either side as the entrance into Barrack Street. In the rear, at the north east corner (where the Sergeants Mess and NAAFI complex are now) was the Infirmary and in the South east corner a single block was set aside for the Officers Mess. Another interesting feature was the seawall behind East Block that gave onto Firestone Bay (now the Roscoff Ferry Terminal and Millbay Dock) from which marines would embark for Sea Service. The three blocks flanking the Parade Ground were built as accommodation; the North accommodating junior officers, the south senior officers and the east, NCO and men. The South Block had the Commandant's House at its East end (now the Officers Mess Bar with cabins above), and the 2nd Commandant's House at the West end (the entrance marked by the Archway).

The Barracks around 1800

Barrack Street then ran in a line from the Archway in South Block to the front of Stonehouse Vaults Public House, although the lane that runs down to Seagate (now Admiralty Street) was in existence. Behind the then North Block was a rising piece of ground that went up to what is now Caroline Place; this became known as Bunkers Hill (after the famous battle). In subsequent years, when Artillery Companies were attached to Divisions, a Drill Room and Battery were built here to which a winding road led up from between North and East Blocks. In addition the Divisional School and Tailors Shop were established in the area of the Infirmary, with QM's stores and cells established underneath the latter. All this can be seen in Plan 1 which dates from 15 February 1819. At this time the Longroom and its adjacent land was still owned by civilians and nothing to do with the Barracks.

Longroom Bought For £4,450

In 1803 negotiations were opened to secure the Longroom and the area to the South for the Crown. As Plymouth and Devonport had expanded so they had acquired their own meeting rooms and the Longroom began to fall into disuse. More land was required due to the expansion of marines after the renewal of the war with Bonaparte's France, and the fear of invasion in the South West. Millbay Barracks (opposite the Duke of Cornwall) was borrowed from the Navy but this was inconvenient and the Longroom area was deemed more suitable. It was secured at £4,450 through Mr Pridham from the Edgcumbe estate and a wooden barracks was built (on the site of what is known as Upper Battery) in 1805. The Officers Mess was established in the Longroom itself since the single building in Stonehouse itself was manifestly unsatisfactory. Other than this the Barracks altered little in the early 19th century; men were recruited, trained and then sent aboard ship to fight in the multitude of actions against Bonaparte and his allies. The Parade Ground, the Drill Ground behind North Block, and the flat area of Eastern Kings were well used.With Napoleon's incarceration on St Helena in 1816 the British Forces were quickly run down (as usual) and a large demobilisation took place, not least in the Corps. However, even in these circumstances, plans were still laid to improve the Barracks. In 1818 the Officers Mess Buildings were expanded, the Library (and the upper rooms as Subaltern's accommodation) were built to connect with East Block (the Solarium was still a Courtyard); as a result the Longroom was vacated by the Officers and became a School for the children of NCOs. At the same time a colonnade was built on the West side of the Parade Ground, between the railings, that had the Guardroom, cells and duty officers room on the ground floor, and above the Orderly Room, Library and Paymasters Office. (As reflected in the 1819 plan). Shortly afterwards commercial ventures began to reclaim Millbay from the sea and the Admiralty (ever to the fore) purchased land as it became available behind the Barracks, so that, by 1840 when the GWR docks were started they owned the lands we currently occupy.Between 1820 and 1840 there was little building activity in the Stonehouse Barracks area. The Drill Shed steps were constructed in 1838, as the reclaimed land began to be developed, to ease access to the rear of the East Block and the sea. However the major developments were happening in Plymouth Town and the surrounding area; the Royal William Victualling Yard was completed in 1830, an elegant Durnford Street was built by 1831, and railways connected the South West with the rest of the World.

Harbour frontage (Print 1798 (ish))

Major Reconstruction in the 1850s

Once again it was war that contributed to the expansion of the Barracks. In the 1850s the Crimean War involvement of the country led to yet another expansion of the Corps. I suspect it was used as an excuse by an astute Commandant who had already laid his plans for improvements. Be that as it may, the first major move was to extend East Block to the North  this meant that Bunkers Hill had to be excavated and allowed the addition of 28 more rooms. The work was completed in 1859. It still exists as it was built. In addition Western Kings Fort was built for Naval Gunnery training and the Racquets Court (now the Globe Theatre) was first used for public entertainment. Along the line of the back wall of the Drill Shed there came into existence all sorts of Barracks facilities, the majority of which are shown on Plan 2. Don't forget that there was no Main Galley, orderlies carried food back to barrack rooms, there was no NAAFI a wet canteen provided ale only (this opened in 1851); heads and bathrooms were a long way from the 30 bed accommodation rooms. The Officers Mess was vastly improved with the addition of the delightful mess room, with the music room, butlers room and service areas as a complement. The rear part of the Longroom was taken over as an Infirmary as the old one on Bunkers Hill was demolished and plans made to build the Surgeon's and Assistant Surgeon's Houses (now Seagate House and Emma's Cottage). This flurry of building activity ended in 1862 with the construction of the Officers Mess Billiard Room, the roofing over the Solarium and final conversion of the racquets court into a theatre.

Forming of a Parade in 1868 after the reconstruction of the 1850's

Since the Barracks had been built it had fronted onto a lane, behind the elegant Durnford Street, called Barrack Street. Inevitably developed into a most unsavoury area comprising a brewery, 12 public houses and innumerable brothels amongst the hovels; two previous articles in this magazine refer to the area as a 'rookery'! The Admiralty commenced negotiations for the land in 1861 and the buildings were demolished. The old North Block was razed and the present one built some 50 yards in rear. This had more luxurious accommodation (only 20 men per room!) with the Sergeants Mess at the near end. (Inhabitants of the Barracks prior to 1963 will remember it well). The elegant West Block that exists today that is the Archway and twin colonnades, was completed in 1867, and provided appropriate accommodation for six senior officers, and the offices of the Division. In addition subaltern's rooms were built in S and T passages as an overfloor from the Officers mess whence they had been ousted by the Billiard Room. At the South West Corner, at the end of the Officers Mess Cabins, they had also built 14 tiny flatlets for married officers (R Block). By 1871 other improvements included the Divisional Schools, fronting onto Caroline Place (where the present Sergeants Mess stands) and the Lecture Room over the Archway in West Block (now used as a Chapel). The first anniversary of the Barracks saw a very different setting from the original.

Further Improvements Included a Main Galley

Behind the Barracks much work was in hand. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in conjunction with GWR, built the huge careening dock that still exists beneath the Roscoff ferry terminal, and the Admiralty bought yet more land to allow cooked food to be taken to barrack rooms; there was still no central eating area; the Drill Shed as we know it now was completed (less the Band Practice Room); the Divisional Stables were completed in the area of what is now the MT Wash Down area. Throughout this period Royal Marines of Plymouth Division were coming and going to and from the various wars of the 19th Century. In the early part of the 1800s it was all sea service as infantry, from 1817 onwards marines trained at the guns and helped Jolly Jack as guns crews in addition to providing landing parties. Gradually the landing of marines detachments from ships coalesced into the formation of formed companies and battalions who acquitted themselves admirably in the numerable brush‑fire wars of Victoria's reign,  Spain, Syria, China, Crimea, India, China and Japan, Gold Coast, Egypt, Ireland, Sudan and South Africa. (Detailed accounts should be read up in Col Field's second volume of Britain's Sea Soldiers). Meanwhile gradual improvements continued at Plymouth Division's Base at Stonehouse.

RMLI Beer Canteen around 1900
(Taken from a postcard published by Gale and Polden)

In 1890 a typhoid outbreak decimated the inhabitants of the flats in R Block, so much so that accommodation was reduced to only 7 flats and the heads and bathrooms annex was built on. In the meantime the Camber was built alongside Millbay Docks, the present boat shed and slip were used as the Plymouth Lifeboat Station for a number of years. Other amenities included the indoor shooting range (the .22 range) known as the Morris Tube Galley, and the development of the Globe as a Theatre with its 3rd restoration. Militarily, the Upper Battery on the Longroom heights was built with a 'Rolling Motion' platform and a formidable armament of heavy guns to practise the crews that manned the country's Dreadnoughts. At the entrance to the Longroom area the present Air Defence Troop and MT Stores and Workshops began life as the RMA Drill Shed and subsequently became the coal and straw shed for the Division. The Longroom itself became an annex of the Divisional school and in the area behind was the school playground, this meant that the Infirmary had to move to the recently acquired Altringham House (where the RMP Troop are now). At the turn of the century eight SNCOs quarters were built behind the Officers mess, along the Admiralty Street wall (now garages) and in the Officers Mess the wood block floor was laid in the Solarium and the Porch was built. In January 1905 the Barracks was converted to electricity throughout with gas being used. for cooking only. The RMVCC and Girls Ambulance Corps were formed and provided many a useful recruit for the Naval Service in the approaching Great War. All building activity in Stonehouse ceased with the outbreak of World War 1. All energies were turned towards the training of young (and not so young) men for war, and then the rehabilitation and retraining of wounded heroes from France, Gallipoli, North Africa or Sea Service. Detailed accounts of RM activities in the first great war are well documented in other histories. As the country returned to normality after the Armistice in 1918 so more work was initiated in the Barracks and the Longroom areas. In 1919 the Dining Hall system was introduced and in 1920 the Longroom football pitch was laid; eight years later the present stand was built. In 1921, with the coming of state education the Longroorm Boys School and the Caroline Place School were combined under the auspices of the local education authority; the Longroom building was taken over by the QM's department. On Plymouth Hoe, the ­Divisional War Memorial was unveiled and consecrated and is still the scene of remembrance services each year.

The Home of the Third Division

With the amalgamation of the RMLI and RMA into the Royal Marines in 1923 Plymouth became the home of the 3rd Division. The final land at Eastern Kings and Drummer's Pit was acquired and further modernisation continued in the Barracks. The automatic telephone system was installed in 1925 and the Gateway lecture room was consecrated as a church in 1926. In 1930 the Racquets Court by Millbay was converted into the three existing squash courts. In 1938 Eastern Kings Fort was taken over completely to train men for sea. A completely naval style of life was introduced including hammocks and messdecks. At the outbreak of the 2nd World War Stonehouse Barracks became once again a unit for holding and training reinforcements for the Corps. By a miracle the vast aerial bombardments suffered by Plymouth left the Barracks almost untouched except for a 5001b bomb that hit the Mess Room, killing three people and destroying valuable mess property. The Caroline Place School was also hit and incendiary bombs caused some fire damage to the buildings.

1939 Parade ground Dug to construct Air-Raid Shelters

In 1947 the Corps was reorganised with the old Divisions being given separate roles, that of Plymouth Group being Commando Training. So throughout Stonehouse, there was much reallocation of functions to buildings but money was short and little of structural interest took place. The 1950's saw only a couple of ceremonial occasions; presentation of Colours in 1951 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and the Freedom of Plymouth in 1955; the building programme had halted whilst plans were drawn up for the second big modernisation in the Barracks history. In the 1950s and 1960s there were many changes to the Corps deployment, which are well documented elsewhere and will not be included here.

Modernisation Started in 1961

The Barracks as we know it now started to come into being in 1961 when the establishment began to be closed down. All training units were relocated and preparations for modernisation were put in hand. In the event, the arrival of 43 Commando RM rather delayed matters until 1965 when East Block was completed. In 1966 North Block was finished and the Officers Mess moved to No 6 House and the Garrison Company Offices as MPBW brought the mess cabins up-to-date. At the same time much building was going on elsewhere culminating in 1967 being the year in which the new Sergeants Mess, NAAFI Block and MT Hilton were built and the Officers Mess completed. By 1970 No 7 House had been added to the Officers Mess, the new galley, dining hall and DOE complex were finished; the Commando Logistic Regiment RM was taking over the Barracks, HQ Commando Forces had moved to Hamoaze House and HQ 3 Commando Brigade RM had been established in West Block.

1984 Looking west towards Mount Wise and Devonport