Piershill Barracks | |
---|---|
Piershill, Edinburgh, Scotland | |
Coordinates | 55°57′22″N 3°08′46″W / 55.956°N 3.146°W |
Site history | |
Built | 1793 |
Built for | War Office |
In use | 1793-1934 |
Piershill Barracks was a military installation in Piershill in Edinburgh.
The barracks were built as part of the British response to the threat of the
French Revolution and were completed in 1793.
[1] Built along three sides of a quadrangle,
[2] they were occupied by various cavalry regiments who would exercise their horses along
Portobello Beach.
[3]
Regiments there were the
Dragoon Guards,
Light Dragoons, 9th Lancers,
Inniskilling Dragoons, 7th Hussars and the
Royal Scots Greys.
[4]
A General Court Martial was convened at the barracks on 25 September 1820 by order of Major-General Sir Thomas Bradford, Commander in Chief, Scotland, to try all such prisoners brought before it, with Colonel Sir William Williams K.C.B. (later Major-General William Williams (1776-1832)) as presiding officer. [5]
They became the home of the Royal Scots Greys in the late 19th century [6] but were condemned as insanitary and unfit for occupation by cavalry regiments in the early 20th century; this gave rise to concerns that the Royal Scots Greys would be disbanded leaving Scotland without a cavalry regiment. [7] In practice the Royal Scots Greys moved to Redford Barracks and Piershill Barracks continued to be used on a much smaller scale by the Royal Horse Artillery. [7]
The barracks were vacated in 1934 and demolished in 1935, shortly before the start of the Second World War. [1] The site is now occupied by the Piershill Square tenement blocks which were constructed in 1936 using stone from the old barracks. [8] The blocks were created as Council housing by the City Architect, Ebenezer James MacRae. [9]
Piershill Barracks | |
---|---|
Piershill, Edinburgh, Scotland | |
Coordinates | 55°57′22″N 3°08′46″W / 55.956°N 3.146°W |
Site history | |
Built | 1793 |
Built for | War Office |
In use | 1793-1934 |
Piershill Barracks was a military installation in Piershill in Edinburgh.
The barracks were built as part of the British response to the threat of the
French Revolution and were completed in 1793.
[1] Built along three sides of a quadrangle,
[2] they were occupied by various cavalry regiments who would exercise their horses along
Portobello Beach.
[3]
Regiments there were the
Dragoon Guards,
Light Dragoons, 9th Lancers,
Inniskilling Dragoons, 7th Hussars and the
Royal Scots Greys.
[4]
A General Court Martial was convened at the barracks on 25 September 1820 by order of Major-General Sir Thomas Bradford, Commander in Chief, Scotland, to try all such prisoners brought before it, with Colonel Sir William Williams K.C.B. (later Major-General William Williams (1776-1832)) as presiding officer. [5]
They became the home of the Royal Scots Greys in the late 19th century [6] but were condemned as insanitary and unfit for occupation by cavalry regiments in the early 20th century; this gave rise to concerns that the Royal Scots Greys would be disbanded leaving Scotland without a cavalry regiment. [7] In practice the Royal Scots Greys moved to Redford Barracks and Piershill Barracks continued to be used on a much smaller scale by the Royal Horse Artillery. [7]
The barracks were vacated in 1934 and demolished in 1935, shortly before the start of the Second World War. [1] The site is now occupied by the Piershill Square tenement blocks which were constructed in 1936 using stone from the old barracks. [8] The blocks were created as Council housing by the City Architect, Ebenezer James MacRae. [9]