Bible Encyclopedias
Barracks

British System

The accommodation to be given in British military barracks is scheduled in the Barrack Synopsis, which contains "statements of particulars, based upon decisions which have, from time to time, been laid down by authority, as regards the military buildings authorized for various units, and the accommodation and fittings to be provided in connexion therewith." Each item of ordinary accommodation is described in the synopsis, and the areas and cubic contents of rooms therein laid down form the basis of the designs for any new barrack buildings. Supplementary to the synopsis is a series of "Standard Plans," which illustrate how the accommodation may be conveniently arranged; the object of the issue of these plans is to put in convenient form the best points of previous designs, and to avoid the necessity of making an entirely fresh design for each building that is to be erected, by using the standard type modified to suit local conditions. External appearance is considered with regard to the materials to be used, and the position the buildings are to occupy; convenience of plan and sound sanitary construction being the principal objects rather than external effect, designs are usually simple, and depend for architectural effect more on the grouping and balance of the parts than on ornamentation such as would add to expense. The synopsis and standard plans are from time to time revised, and brought up to date as improvements suggest themselves, and increases in scale of accommodation are authorized, after due consideration of the financial effect; so that systematic evolution of barrack design is carried on.

Modern British Barracks

A description of a modern barrack for a battalion of infantry will give an idea of the standard of accommodation which is now authorized, and to which older barracks are gradually remodelled as funds permit. The unmarried soldiers are quartered in barrack-rooms usually planned to contain twelve men in each; this number forms a convenient division to suit the organization of the company, and is more popular with the men than the larger numbers which were formerly the rule in each barrack-room; there is a greater privacy, whilst the number is not too small to keep up the feeling of barrack-room comradeship which plays an important part in the soldier's training. The rooms give 600 cub. ft. of air per man, and have windows on each side: the beds are spaced between the windows so that only one bed comes in a corner, and not more than two between any two windows: inlet ventilators are fixed high up in the side walls, and an extract shaft warmed by the chimney flue keeps up a circulation of air through the room: the door is usually at one end of the room and the fireplace at the opposite end: over each man's bed is a locker and shelf where he keeps his kit, and his rifle stands near the head of his bed. Convenient of access from the door to the barrack-room is the ablution-room with basins and foot-bath; also disconnected by a lobby is a water-closet and urinal for night use, others for day use being provided in separate external blocks. Baths are usually grouped in a central bath-house adjacent to the cook-house, and have hot water laid on. For every two or four barrack-rooms, a small single room is provided for the occupation of the sergeant in charge, who is responsible for the safety of a small store, where men may leave their rifle and kit when going on furlough. Adjacent to the barrack blocks and next to the cook-house are arranged the dining-rooms where the men assemble for their meals; no food is now served in the barrack-rooms, and the air in them is thus kept much purer and fresher than under the old Ablution ` - Room &c.

Double Company Block Verandah +--Stairs N.C.O.. and Store Double Co. Dining Rm. Block it Cook House and Baths Block Double Co. Dining Rm. Block Double Company Block 8 Barrack rooms on each floor ?

system. The dining-rooms are lofty and well ventilated, and are warmed by hot water; tables and forms are arranged so as to make the most of the space, and room is provided for all the men to dine simultaneously.

Next to the dining-room is the cook-house where the meals for a half battalion are cooked, and served direct to the dining-rooms on each side. Wash-up rooms are arranged off the serving-lobby with plate-racks and shelves for the storage of the crockery after it has been washed. The cooking apparatus is designed for economical use of coal fuel, and, if carefully used, consumes little more than 2 lb of coal per man per day. The cook-house is well lighted and ventilated by a top lantern; tables, dressers, and pastry slab are provided for preparing and serving the meals, and a sink for washing kitchen utensils. Under the kitchen block is a basement containing the boiler for heating the dining-rooms and another for the supply of hot water to baths and sinks, with in some cases also a hot-air furnace for heating drying-rooms, for drying the men's clothing when they come in wet from a routemarch or field day. Not far from the barrack blocks is placed the recreation establishment or soldiers' club, where the rank and file may go for relaxation and amusement when off duty; this establishment has, on the ground floor, a large and lofty room with a stage at one end for lectures or entertainments, and at the other end is a supper bar, extending across the room, where mineral waters and other light refreshments are sold; tables are also arranged for suppers. A grocery shop is provided where the men and their families may purchase goods bought under regimental arrangements at wholesale prices, and sold without more profit than is necessary to keep the institution self-supporting. On the first floor are billiard and games room, reading-room and library, and writing-room. The manager's quarter and kitchen premises complete the establishment. Near the recreation establishment is the canteen, devoted solely to the sale of beer, and not permitted to vie in attractiveness with the recreation establishment.

A bar is provided for the soldiers, a separate room for corporals, and a jug department for the supply of the families; this building also has a manager's quarter attached to it, and an office for the checking of accounts.

For the senior non-commissioned officers a sergeants' mess is provided, containing dining-room, reading-room and billiardroom, with kitchen premises and liquor store, which also has a jug department for the sergeants' families. The single noncommissioned officers have all their meals in this mess, and the married members also use it as a club. The warrant officers, and the proportion of non-commissioned officers and men who are on the married establishment, are provided with accommodation at some little distance from the men's barracks. In all recent schemes, on open sites, self-contained cottages have been built, and these are more popular than the older pattern of tenement buildings approached by common staircases or verandahs. The warrant officers are allowed a living-room, kitchen, and scullery, with three bedrooms and a bathroom. The married soldiers have a living-room, scullery, and one, two, or three bedrooms according to the size of their families. A laundry is provided adjacent to the married quarters, equipped with washing-troughs, wringer, drying-closet, and ironing-room; and the women are encouraged to use this in preference to doing washing in their cottages.

Officers' Quarters

At a little distance from the men's barracks, and usually looking over the parade or cricket ground, is the officers' mess. This building has an entrance-hall with band alcove, where the band plays on guest nights; on one side of the hall is the mess-room (or dining-room), and on the other the anteroom (or reading-room), whilst the billiard-room and kitchen are kept to the back so that lantern lights can be arranged for. A mess office is provided, and all the accessories required for the mess waiters' department, including pantry, plate-closet and cellarage, and for the kitchen or mess-man's department, with also a quarter for the mess-man. The officers' quarters are usually arranged in wings extending the frontage of the mess building, and in a storey over the mess itself. Each officer has a large room, part of which is partitioned off for a bedroom, and the field officers are allowed two rooms. The soldier servant, told off to each officer, has a small room allotted for cleaning purposes, and bathrooms, supplied with hot water from the mess kitchen, are centrally situated. A detached house, containing three sittingrooms, seven bedand dressing-rooms, bathroom, kitchen, servants' hall, and the usual accessories, is provided for the commanding officer: also a smaller house, having two sitting-rooms, four bedrooms, bath, kitchen, &c., for the quartermaster. Other regimental married officers are not provided for, and have to arrange to house themselves, a lodging allowance being usually granted.

Regimental Accessories

Apart from the buildings providing accommodation, others are required for administrative and military purposes. These are the guard house and regimental offices, the small-arm ammunition store, the fire-engine house, the drill and gymnastic hall, and the medical inspection block with dispensary, where the sick are seen by a medical officer and either prescribed for or sent into hospital, as may be necessary. Stables are provided for the officers' and transport horses, and a vehicle shed and storehouse for the mobilization equipment. Stores are required for bread, meat, coal, clothing, and for musketry, signalling, and general small stores under the quartermaster's charge - also workshops for armourers, carpenters, plumbers, painters and glaziers, shoemakers, and tailors. Mention of the fives court, recreation ground and parade ground completes the description of a battalion barrack.

Cavalry Barracks

The accommodation provided for cavalry is very similar to that already described for infantry. The barrack blocks are arranged to suit the organization of the regiment, and are placed so that the men can turn out readily and get to their horses. Detached buildings are provided for cavalry troop stables, one block for the horses of each troop. Formerly stables were often built for convenience with the barrack-rooms over them; but this system has been abandoned on sanitary grounds, to the benefit of both men and horses. Each horse is given i 50o cub. ft. of air space, the horses' heads are turned to the outer walls, and provision is made, by traversed air-ducts below the mangers, for fresh air to be supplied to the horses while lying down. Above the horses' heads are windows which are arranged to open inwards, being hinged at the bottom and fitted with hopper cheeks to avoid direct draught. Ridge ventilation and skylights are given, so that all parts of the stable are well lighted and airy.

Cast-iron mangers and hay-racks are provided, and the horses are separated by bails, with chains to manger brackets and heel posts; saddle brackets are fixed to the heel posts. Each stable has a troop store, where spare saddles and gear are kept; also an expense forage store, in which the day's ration, after issue in bulk from the forage barn, is kept until it is given out in feeds. The stables are paved with blue Staffordshire paving bricks, graded to a collecting channel carrying the drainage well clear of the building, before it is taken into a gully.

The space between the blocks of stables is paved with cement concrete to form a yard, and horse-troughs, litter-sheds and dung-pits are provided. Officers' stables are built in separate blocks, and usually have only one row of stalls; the stalls are divided by partitions, and separate saddle-rooms are provided. Stalls and loose boxes in infirmary stables give 2000 cub. ft. of air space per horse and are placed at some distance from the troop stables in a separate enclosure. A forge and shoeing shed is provided in a detached block near the troop stables. A forage barn and granary is usually built to hold a fortnight's supply, and a chaff-cutter driven by horse power is fixed close by. Cavalry regiments each have a large covered riding school, and a number of open man g ges, for exercise and riding instruction.

Artillery, es'c. - The accommodation provided for horse and field artillery is arranged to suit their organization in batteries and brigades, and is generally similar to that already described, with the addition of vehicle sheds for guns and ammunition wagons, and special shops for wheelers and saddlers. Accommodation for other units follows the general lines already laid down, but has to be arranged to suit the particular organization and requirements of each unit.

Garrison Accessories

In every large military station in addition to the regimental buildings which have been described, a number of buildings and works are required for the service of the garrison generally. Military hospitals are established at home and abroad for the treatment of sick officers and soldiers as well as their wives and families. Military hospitals are classified as follows:First-grade hospitals are large central hospitals serving important districts. These hospitals are complete in themselves and fully equipped for the carrying out of operations of all kinds; they generally contain wards for officers, and may have attached to them separate isolation hospitals for the treatment of infectious cases, and military families' hospitals for women and children. Second-grade hospitals are smaller in size and less fully equipped, but are capable of acting independently and have operation rooms. Third-grade hospitals or reception stations are required for small stations principally, to act as feeders to the large hospitals, and to deal with accident and nontransportable cases. The principles of construction of military hospitals do not differ materially from the best modern civil practice; all are now built on the pavilion system with connecting corridors arranged so as to interfere as little as possible with the free circulation of air between the blocks. The site is carefully selected and enclosed with railings. The administration block is centrally placed, with ward blocks on each side, and accessory buildings placed where most convenient; the isolation wards are in a retired position and divided off from the hospital enclosure. Ward blocks usually have two storeys, and the ordinary large wards provide 1200 cub. ft. of air space per patient. A due proportion of special case and other special wards is arranged in which the space per patient is greater or less, as necessary.

Army schools are built to give slightly more liberal accommodation than is laid down as the minimum by the Board of Education, but the principles of planning are much the same as in civil elementary schools. Schools are usually placed between the married quarters and the barracks, so as to serve both for the instruction of the men, when working for educational certificates, and for the education of the children of the married soldiers. Garrison churches are built when arrangements for the troops to attend divine service at neighbouring places of worship cannot well be made. Only two military prisons now remain, viz. Dover and Curragh, and these are for soldiers discharged from the service with ignominy. For ordinary sentences detention barracks and branch detention barracks are attached to the military commands and districts: these are constructed in accordance with the home office regulations; but crime in the army fortunately continues to decrease, and little accommodation has recently been added. Barrack expense stores for the issue of bedding, utensils and other stores for which the troops depend upon the Army Service Corps, are necessary in all barracks; and in large stations a supply depot for the issue of provisions, with abattoir and bakery attached to it, may be necessary. An engineer office with building yard and workshops to deal with the ordinary duties in connexion with the upkeep of War Department property is required at every station, and for large stations such as Aldershot, it may be necessary to undertake special water supply schemes, works for disposal of sewage, and for the supply of electricity or gas for lighting the barracks. The system of roads, pipes and mains within the barracks are in all cases maintained by the Royal Engineers, as well as the buildings themselves. District and brigade offices are necessary for the administration of large units, and quarters for the general officer commanding and the headquarters staff may sometimes be required.

Location of Barracks

The selection of a healthy site for a barrack building new military station is a matter of great importance. In the earlier days of barrack construction, barracks were, for political reasons, usually built in large towns, where troops would be at hand for putting down disturbances, and cramped and inconvenient buildings of many storeys, were erected on a small piece of ground often surrounded by the worst slums of the city; such, for example, were the Ship Street barracks in Dublin, and the cavalry barracks at Hulme, Manchester. Worse still were cases where an existing building, such as the Linen Hall in Dublin, was purchased, and converted into barracks with little regard for the convenience of the occupants, and a total disregard for the need of a free circulation of pure air in and about the buildings, which is the first condition of health. In the present day, except in a few cases where strong local influence is allowed to prevail to retain troops in towns, where their presence, .and perhaps the money they spend, are appreciated for patriotic or other motives, every opportunity is taken to move troops from the vicinity of crowded towns, and quarter them in barracks or hutments built in the open country. Due regard can then be given to sanitary location, and military training can more effectively be carried out. With improvements in communication by rail, road and telegraph, support to the civil power in case of disturbance can always be afforded in good time, without permanently stationing troops in the actual locality where their assistance may be needed. It has been recognized ever since the Crimean War, that the leading principle of barrack policy must, in the future, be to facilitate in peace time the training of the army for war, and that this can only be done by quartering troops in large bodies, including all branches of the service, in positions where they have space for training, gun and rifle practice, and manoeuvring. The camps at Aldershot, Colchester, Shorncliffe and Curragh were accordingly started between 1856 and 1860, and the same policy has since been continued by the acquisition of Strensall Common, near York, Kilworth domain, near Fermoy, the lease of a portion of Dartmoor and a large area .at Glen Imaal in Co. Wicklow, and the purchase of the Stobs estate in Scotland and of a large part of Salisbury Plain.

Barrack Construction

The history of barrack construction in Great Britain is an interesting study, but can only be touched on briefly. As long as operations in the field were carried on by troops levied especially for the war in hand, no barracks apart from fortifications were required, except those for the royal bodyguard; and even after the standing army exceeded those limits, the necessity for additional barracks was often avoided by having recourse to the device of billeting, i.e. quartering the soldiers on the populations of the towns where they were posted. This, however, was a device burdensome to the people, subversive of discipline, and prejudicial to military efficiency in many ways, while it exposed the scattered soldiers to many temptations to disloyalty. Hence barracks were gradually provided, at first in places where such an arrangement was most necessary owing to the paucity of the population, or where concentration of troops was most important, owing to the disaffection of some of the inhabitants. The earliest barracks of which there is any record as regards England, were those for the foot guards, erected in 1660. Among the earliest of those still existing are the Royal Barracks at Dublin, dating from 1700, and during the 18th century barracks were built in several parts of Ireland; but in England it was at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century that most of the earlier barracks were constructed. So long as barracks were mainly in connexion with fortresses their construction naturally fell to the duty of the King's Engineers, afterwards the Corps of Engineers, working under the master-general of the ordnance. About 1796, however, a special civil department was formed under the commissioners for the affairs of barracks, to deal with barracks apart from fortifications. In 1816 we find a warrant appointing a civilian comptroller of the barrack department to deal with the erection and upkeep of barracks and barrack hospitals not within fortified places. This warrant gives one of the earliest records of the nature of accommodation provided, and a few extracts from it are worth notice. No definite regulations as to cubic or floor space per man are laid down; but in the infantry, twelve men, and in the cavalry, eight men are allotted to one room. "Bedsteads or berths" are allowed, "a single one to each man, or a double one to two men," or "hammocks where necessary." The married soldier's wife is barely recognized, as shown by the following extract: - "The comptroller of the barrack department may, if he sees fit, and when it in no shape interferes with or straitens the accommodation of the men, permit (as an occasional indulgence, and as tending to promote cleanliness, and the convenience of the soldier) four married women per troop or company of sixty men, and six per troop or company of a hundred men, to be resident within the barracks; but no one article shall on this account be furnished by the barrack-masters, upon any consideration whatever. And if the barrack-masters perceive that any mischief, or damage, arises from such indulgence, the commanding officer shall, on their representation, displace such women. Nor shall any dogs be suffered to be kept in the rooms of any barrack or hospital." Another regulation says: "Where kitchens are provided for the soldiers, they shall not be allowed to dress their provisions in any other places." In about 1818 the civil barrack department was abolished on account of abuses which had grown up, and the duke of Wellington as mastergeneral of the ordnance and commander-in-chief transferred to the corps of Royal Engineers the duties of construction and maintenance of barracks. In 1826 a course of practical architecture was started at the school of military engineering at Chatham under Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Charles) Pasley, the first commandant of the school, who himself wrote an outline of the course. Wellington interested himself in the barrack question, and under his orders single iron bedsteads were substituted for the wooden berths, two tiers high, in which two men slept in the same bed, then a certain cubical space per man was allotted, and cook-houses and ablution-rooms were added. Next, sergeants' messes were started, and ball courts allowed for the recreation of the men. It was not, however, till after the Crimean War that public attention was directed by the report dated 1857 of the royal commission on the sanitary state of the army, to the high death-rate, and certain sanitary defects in barracks and hospitals, such as overcrowding, defective ventilation, bad drainage and insufficient means of cooking and cleanliness, to which this excessive mortality was among other causes assigned.

In 1857 a commission appointed for improving the sanitary condition of barracks and hospitals made an exhaustive inspection of the barracks in the United Kingdom, and reported in 1861. This was followed by similar commissions to examine the barracks in the Mediterranean stations and in India. These commissions, besides making valuable recommendations for the improvement of almost every barrack inspected by them, laid down the general sanitary principles applicable to the arrangement and construction of military barracks and hospitals; and in spite of the lapse of time, the reports repay close study by any one interested in sanitary science as applied to the construction and improvement of such buildings. The names of Sidney Herbert (afterwards Lord Herbert of Lea), Captain (afterwards Sir Douglas) Galton, R.E., and John Sutherland, M.D., stand out prominently among those who contributed to the work. The commission was constituted a standing body in 1862, and continues its work to the present day, under the name of the Army Sanitary Committee, which advises the secretary of state for war on all sites for new barracks or hospitals, also upon type plans, especially as to sanitary details, and principles of sanitary construction and fitments. A definite standard of accommodation was laid down, which formed the basis of the first issue of the Barrack Synopsis in 1865. A general order dated 1845 had directed that a space of 450 to 500 cub. ft. per man should be provided in all new barracks at home stations; but this had not been applied in existing barracks or buildings appropriated as such, and when detailed examination was made, it was found that some men had actually less than 250 cub. ft., and out of accommodation for nominally 76,813 soldiers, 2003 only had 600 cub. ft. per man, which was the minimum scale now laid down by the royal commission of 1857. To give every soldier his allotted amount of 600 cub. ft., meant a reduction in accommodation of the barracks by nearly one-third the number. Many buildings were condemned as being entirely unsuitable for use as barracks; in other cases improvements were possible by alterations to buildings and opening-up of sites. Ventilation of the rooms was greatly improved, cook-houses, ablution-rooms and sanitary accessories were carefully examined and a proper scale laid down. Separate quarters for the married soldiers did not exist in many barracks, and in some instances married men's beds were found in the men's barrack-rooms without even a screen to separate them; in other cases, married people were accommodated together in a barrack-room, with only a blanket hung on a cord as a screen between the different families. The recommendations of the committee resulted in a single room being allotted to all married soldiers, and this accommodation has gradually improved up to the comfortable cottage now provided.

From the time of this first thorough inquiry into barrack accommodation, steady and systematic progress has been made. Although lack of funds has always hampered rapid progress, and keeps the accommodation actually existing below the standard aimed at, much has been done to improve the soldiers' condition in this respect. Numerous regimental depots and other barracks were built under the Military Forces Localization Act of 1872. The Barracks Act of 1890 replaced the worn-out huts at Aldershot, Colchester, Shorncliffe and Curragh by convenient and sanitary permanent buildings, and further additions and improvements have been made under the Military Works Acts of 1897, 1899 and 1901. As some evidence of the practical result of the care and money that has been expended on this work, it is interesting to note that while, in 1857, the annual rate of mortality in the army at home per l000 men was 17.5 (compared with 9.2 for the civil male population of corresponding age), forty years later, in 1897, the rate of mortality in the army was only 3.42 per 1000. No doubt, improved barrack accommodation contributed greatly to this result. Barrack construction work remained in the hands of the Corps of Royal Engineers until 1904, when a civil department was again formed under an architect styled "director of barrack construction," to deal with the construction of barracks at home stations, and the construction and maintenance of military hospitals.

British Colonial. - Barracks at colonial stations are governed by the general scale of accommodation in the Barrack Synopsis, modified according to the climate of the station, in the direction of increase in floor area and height of rooms. In the planning of rooms for occupation in tropical or sub-tropical countries provision has to be made for the freest possible circulation of air through the buildings. The walls have to be protected by verandahs from the direct rays of the sun, and the special local domestic arrangements have to be taken into consideration. For example, in hot countries it is usually undesirable to have kitchens directly attached to the dwelling-houses, sanitary arrangements vary according to the methods adopted, and in some cases it is necessary to provide a free circulation of air below the ground floors of all inhabited buildings by raising them off the ground some 4 ft. The aspect of the buildings will usually be arranged so as to catch the prevailing wind, and the mode of construction varies greatly according to the custom and resources of the country.

Indian Barracks

In India, barracks for the British troops are built by the Royal Engineer officers detailed for military work duties, assisted by military foremen, who pass through the civil engineering colleges, and by a native subordinate staff. The scale of accommodation to be provided is laid down in the Indian army regulations, and is for the private soldier more liberal than is allowed by the home government for any of the colonial stations. The barrack-rooms are lofty and airy, with verandahs all round, and clerestory windows. Roofs are usually of double tiling. The allowance of space is 90 sq. ft. per man in rooms 16 ft. high, with, in addition, a day room adjoining for the use of the men for their meals or as a sitting-room. Recreation establishments are liberally provided for, and other means of recreation, such as bowling and skittle alleys, fives courts, plunge baths and cricket grounds, are given. Separate blocks of married quarters are provided, and schools for the children. Hospital accommodation on a higher scale than at home is necessary; but hill sanatoria have in recent years done much to improve the health of the troops by giving change of air, during the hot weather, to a large proportion of the men and families. Piped water supplies have replaced the old wells at many stations, and attention is being directed to improved cooking and sanitary arrangements.

Naval Barracks

In recent years, large naval barracks have been built, notably at Portsmouth, Chatham and Devonport. These differ from military barracks principally in that they keep up the system of board-ship life to which the men are accustomed. Large barrack-rooms are provided with caulked floors like ships' decks, and have rows of hammocks slung across them; these are stowed in the day-time, when the rooms are used as mess-rooms. Ablution and sanitary arrangements are grouped together on the basement floors. Fine recreation establishments and canteens have been built. The officers' messes have splendid public rooms, but the officers' quarters are not so large as in military barracks, though no doubt spacious to the naval officer, accustomed as he is to a small cabin. Married quarters for the men are not provided except in connexion with coastguard stations.

Other Countries

A great number of the German and French barracks are erected in the form of a large block of three or four storeys containing all the accommodation and accessories for officers, married and single non-commissioned officers and men, of a complete battalion or regiment in one building. Some of the modern barracks, however, are arranged more on the pavilion system with separate blocks; but the single block system is well liked on account of its compactness and the facility it gives for supervision; it is also more satisfactory from the architectural point of view. The system of allotment and arrangement of accommodation for these two great armies does not differ much, except in detail, from that adopted by the British army. The floor and cubic space allotted per man is a little less; accommodation for officers is not usually provided, except to a limited extent, unless the barracks are on a country site. The German army, however, now provides every regiment with a fine officers' messhouse furnished at the public expense. Married quarters for some of the non-commissioned officers are provided, but not for privates. American barracks are interesting, as providing for perhaps a higher class of recruit than usual; they are well designed and superior finish internally is given. The barracks are arranged usually on the separate block system, and centre round a post-exchange or soldiers' club, which is a combined recreation establishment, gymnasium and sergeants' mess, with bath-house attached. Canteens for the sale of liquor were abolished in 1901.

See The Barrack Synopsis (1905); The Handbook of Design and Construction of Military Buildings (1905); The Army Regulations, India, vol. xii. (E. N. S.)