Soldiers Barracks
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Soldiers Barracks
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture
Description
Barracks were originally a temporary shelter or hut but are now better known as specialized buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called discipline factories for soldiers. Like industrial factories, some are considered to be shoddy or dull buildings, although others are known for their magnificent architecture such as Collins Barracks in Dublin and others in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna or London.
Early barracks such as those of the Roman Praetorian Guard were built to maintain elite forces. There are a number of remains of Roman army barracks in frontier forts such as Vercovicium and Vindolanda. From these and from contemporary Roman sources we can see that the basics of life in a military camp have remained constant for thousands of years. In the early modern period they formed part of the 'Military Revolution' that scholars believe contributed decisively to the formation of the nation state by increasing the expense of maintaining standing armies. Large, permanent barracks were developed in the 18th century by the two dominant states of the period, France and Spain. The English term "barrack", on the other hand, derives from the Spanish word for a temporary shelter erected by soldiers on campaign, barraca. Because of fears that a standing army in barracks would be a threat to the constitution, barracks were not generally built in Great Britain until 1790, on the eve of the Napoleonic War. Woolwich, from 1776, is an early example of an urban barracks in Britain built by the Board of Ordnance rather than by the Army.
Early barracks were multi-storied blocks often grouped in a quadrangle around a courtyard or parade ground such as the Berwick Barracks. These barracks were among the first in England to be purpose-built and begun in 1717 to the design of the distinguished architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. During the 18th century the increasing sophistication of military life lead to separate housing for different ranks and married quarters, and the provision of specialized buildings such as dining rooms and cook houses, bath houses, mess rooms, schools, hospitals, armories, gymnasia, riding schools and stables. The pavilion plan concept of hospital design was influential in barrack planning after the Crimean War.
The first large-scale training camps were built in France and Germany during the early 18th century and by the First World War, infantry, artillery and cavalry regiments had separate barracks. The first naval barracks were hulks, old wooden sailing vessels, but these insanitary lodgings were replaced with large naval barracks at the major dockyard towns of Europe and the United States, usually with hammocks instead of beds. These were inadequate for the enormous armies mobilized after 1914. Hut camps were developed using variations of the Nissen hut, made from timber or corrugated iron.
Image copyright 2014 Jon Burch Photography
Uploaded
July 13th, 2014
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