Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The Officers New Barracks, or Officers Mess, is located at the southern end of the site and is a large two/three storey building which was constructed in 1858 as part of a generous scheme of expansion and modernisation undertaken within the castle during and after the Crimean War (1853-1856). The principal elevation is south facing and overlooks the sea. (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• BARRACKS (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1858 AD to 1960 AD)
• MESS (Disused, Post Medieval to Modern - 1858 AD to 1960 AD)

Full description

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The Officers New Barracks, or Officers Mess, is located at the soutrhern end of the site and is a large two/three storey building which was constructed in 1858 as part of a generous scheme of expansion and modernisation undertaken within the castle during and after the Crimean War (1853-1856). The
principal elevation is south facing and overlooks the sea. The building is constructed of brick which has been faced externally with Kentish ragstone. There is dressed stonework detailing to windows and doors and the whole building is in the Tudor gothic revival style. The building consists of five blocks with the terminal and central blocks four storeys high (including the basement level) and the remaining two blocks only three storeys high. The main entrance is located within the central block which also contained the main staircase and ancillary facilities. The end blocks contained officers accommodation with communal WCs and the two blocks flanking the central block contained commanding and field officers accommodation with private WCs. The basement contained the main kitchen, scullery, wine cellar and the cook’s accommodation. Summarised from sources (1-2)

The building is GII Listed, the listing text notes: Officers' quarters and mess, disused. 1856-58, exterior by A Salvin, architect, plan and interior by G Arnold RE, Clerk of the Works. Polygonal rubble and limestone dressings, lateral, ridge and corbelled external stacks with cornices, and slate roof. Tudor Gothic Revival style. PLAN: axial plan of double-depth quarters to left, and central and right-hand mess rooms. EXTERIOR: 2 and 3 storeys and basement; 3:6:6:7:4-window range. Long, asymmetrical and strongly-articulated front has end and central 3-storey sections separated by recessed 2-storey sections, with flat-headed 1-,2- and 3-light mullion windows, some with 2-centre arched lights, and metal casements with horizontal glazing bars, moulded Tudor-arched doorways with label moulds and boarded double doors, coped gables and gable dormers, roll-top crenellated parapets, and external stacks corbelled from upper floors with sunken panels inscribed VR. Left-hand 3-window section has a right-hand gable and taller left-hand crenellated parapet with 2-centre-arched ground- and first-floor windows, and a 4:2-window range left-hand return with front section set forward and divided by second-floor stack. To the right a lower 6-window range with central doorway, stack to the left, and a wide crenellated bay to the right of the entrance with paired 2-1ight, 2-centre-arched windows. Central entrance section has a cornice and crenellated parapet, raised in the middle, and lower right-hand gable, a long flight of steps leads up to a moulded central doorway flanked by tall, attached octagonal plinths with heraldic lions, beneath a large sunken panel with coat of arms; to the right a lower gable has a canted bay with parapet and 3-light transom window, and to the left the main hall has a pair of 3-light Tudor arched transom windows with labels and head stops. To the right a 7-bay range has central and right-hand doorways with small gables to each end and between the doorways. Right-hand end 4-window range has end gable and smaller half dormers to the left separated by a corbelled stack; right-hand 3-window return with rear gable. Similarly articulated and fenestrated rear elevation includes a pair of Tudor arched cross windows to the main hall. INTERIOR: extensively altered late C20, with removal of dividing walls, floors and stairs. The mess room contains 2 good fireplaces with Tudor arches with cusped panels, enriched spandrels and a panel of quatrefoils, and moulded lateral and transverse beams. The left-hand section has a dogleg stair with turned balusters and uncut string SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: basement area enclosed by dwarf walls with moulded cast-iron rails. HISTORY: one of the first large officers' quarters built by a nationally-known architect since the Napoleonic War. An unusual design notable for its strong articulation, and varied and picturesque form, clearly designed to be in context with the Castle (The Buildings of England: Newman J: North East and East Kent: London: 1976-: 293; Anthony Salvin, Pioneer of Gothic Revival: Allibone J: Cambridge: 1987-: 183; Illustrated London News: London: 1858-: 619). (3)

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Pre-Construct Archaeology in 2009 on the area surrounding the building (4)

<1> Johnathan Coad, 1995, English Heritage Book of Dover Castle and the Defences of Dover (Monograph). SKE52106.

<2> English Heritage, 2014, Dover Castle Conservation Management Plan Volume 2 Gazetteer (Unpublished document). SKE52105.

<3> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<4> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2009, An Archaeological Watching Brief at the New Visitor Admissions Building, Dover Castle, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE16259.

Sources and further reading

Related records