c.1903 Camp and Equipment Store / T Block (DCTA complex) These are 2 attached two storey buildings of yellow brick English bond construction. The E block was built in 1903 and the west block soon after. Many original windows and doorways survive and the interiors are mostly intact. There are interesting decorative metal windows on the W side of the building. Based on information from the Colchester Garrison: Historic Building Assessment (Ingram 2000) which considers these buildings to be good examples of their kind and of secondary significance within the Artillery Barracks (Flagstaff / DCTA) group of buildings. [Garrison Buildings Group 1] Ingram: building quality B Ingram: group value B/C -------------- Chbf: The Camp and Equipment Store (T Block), dated c.1903, must have been built as part of the building programme at Colchester camp of the late 1890s and early 1900s, which was funded by the Military Loans System established in 1890 by the Barracks Act. £4.1 million was raised, half of which was used to complete the reconstruction in 'permanent materials' of the 'great camps' of Aldershot, Colchester, Shornecliffe and the Curragh near Dublin, and to replace the huts on Woolwich Heath (Douet 1998). The size of the Army was increased in 1897/8 and 1899/1900. By the Military Works Act of 1899, more funding was allocated to the 'great camps' at Colchester and the Curragh near Dublin, and for the building of a new 'great camp' at Tidworth (Douet 1998) (see history below). -------------- [In 1866, Colchester became the headquarters of the Army's newly-formed Eastern District, and it was one of the Army's four 'great camps' in Britain (with Aldershot, Shornecliffe, and the Curragh near Dublin). In 1872, the Military Localisation Bill provided the blueprint for the reorganisation of the British Army, with 66 districts for infantry regiments, 12 for artillery and 2 for cavalry (Douet 1998); infantry, artillery and cavalry regiments were stationed at Colchester camp. The brick Cavalry Barracks at Colchester were built in two phases in 1862-4. The brick Artillery Barracks were built next to the Cavalry Barracks in the early 1870s, in the Army's great expansion and localisation programme after 1872. The infantry in Colchester were housed in the hutment barracks between Mersea Road and Military Road until 1896, from which date the huts were replaced by brick barracks (1896-1904, Hyderabad and Meeanee Barracks; Douet 1998). The hutted hospital was also closed and the brick Military Hospital opened in 1896. The building programme at Colchester camp of the late 1890s and early 1900s was funded by the Military Loans System established in 1890 by the Barracks Act. £4.1 million was raised, half of which was used to complete the reconstruction in 'permanent materials' of the 'great camps' of Aldershot, Colchester, Shornecliffe and the Curragh near Dublin, and to replace the huts on Woolwich Heath (Douet 1998). The size of the Army was increased in 1897/8 and 1899/1900. By the Military Works Act of 1899, more funding was allocated to the 'great camps' at Colchester and the Curragh near Dublin, and for the building of a new 'great camp' at Tidworth (Douet 1998). In 1899, the government bought some of the land of Barn Hall Farm in Colchester for the Army. Barrack design was improving with the rising standards expected for living accommodation and, during this building programme, barracks were built on a larger scale for corps-level concentrations of troops. In 1900-1901 there was a Commission into barracks accommodation and, in 1901, there was another Military Works Act. In 1904 there were General Reports which were presented to the Army Council and General Staff and, also in 1904, a wholly civilian Barrack Construction Department was formed (Douet 1998). In 1904, the government bought Reed Hall Farm and Bee Hive Farm in Colchester for the Army. In 1906, the Military Loans Programme was cancelled.] In an aerial photo. of 1927, the Flagstaff compound is described as the R.A. Ordnance Depot (National Monuments Record, 'Britain from Above' project) - see image at http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw018554 Plan of the garrison in 1949 from CAT Report 97. Converted to residential in 2016 (Lacerta Court, Arena Place).