In 1716 two permanent field companies of
Artillery (each of a hundred men) were formed by
Royal Warrant and placed under the command of the
Master-General of the Ordnance. They were initially quartered in
the Warren, about half a mile from the current barracks' site. By 1771 the
Royal Regiment of Artillery numbered over 2,400, over a third of whom were usually quartered in Woolwich.
18th-century establishment Work on the new barracks began in 1774 on a site overlooking
Woolwich Common. As originally built (1774–76) the barracks frontage was only half the present length, being the eastern half of the current south elevation, with the clock pediment and turret positioned centrally. Soldiers were accommodated in the central block, officers in the smaller blocks on either side; the blocks were linked by a pair of brick arcades with large rooms behind: a guard room to the west and an
officers' mess to the east. Behind the three blocks was an open yard area and a row of kitchens, with a house for the barrack-master added beyond. In 1793 the
Royal Horse Artillery was formed, and a separate long barracks range was built for them to the north of (and parallel with) the original blocks; it was arranged (cavalry-style) with soldiers on the first floor and stables for the horses below. Then in 1802–05, the entire barracks was more than doubled in size by erecting something close to a
facsimile alongside to the west: in this way the south front was doubled in length by the building of three new blocks (very similar to the first three, but with a wind-dial in place of the clock); and behind these blocks a second Horse Artillery quadrangle was built. Then, to the north of the each quadrangle, a larger, three-storey block was built to provide barrack accommodation for the
Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers (again with stables on the ground floor and soldiers' rooms above); these barracks ran along the full length of the northern edge of the site, up as far as the riding school. The south range of the barracks, facing on to the parade ground, was for the foot artillery. Between these and the quadrangles, a number of ancillary buildings and structures were provided, including a coal store, engineers' yard,
canteen, stores and office buildings, as well as the barrack-master's house. and later expanded in the 1840s); behind the third was the guard room (with a library and reading room added above), and behind the last a regimental chapel. The chapel was a large
galleried space, with seating for close to 1,500 (later increased to almost 1,800 with the addition of an upper gallery in 1847). When a new
garrison church was built in the 1860s, the
chapel within the barracks became redundant, so it was converted to become a theatre for the Royal Artillery Dramatic Society. The barracks were for the most part completed by 1806; by then they already housed 3,210 officers and men, and 1,200 horses. In 1851 work began (to a design by
Thomas Henry Wyatt) on a new building for the Royal Artillery Institution; it was opened three years later, standing immediately to the north of the easternmost block of the south range of the barracks. The building included a horseshoe-shaped lecture theatre, a library, a laboratory, a museum, and facilities for drawing, sketching, printing, modelmaking and photography. An 'Advanced Course for Artillery Officers' was set up within the Institution in 1864: a two-year examined course of higher scientific study including courses in mathematics (including mechanics and hydrostatics), physics, chemistry, metallurgy, ‘the… steam engine, etc.,’, and Professional Subjects including Guns, Carriages, and Small Arms. Guest lecturers included
John Percy in metallurgy,
Thomas Minchin Goodeve in physics and practical mechanics, and Charles Loudon Bloxam in chemistry. From 1871 the Department of Artillery Studies made use of the Institution's facilities to provide instruction for all newly-commissioned Artillery officers (with accommodation being provided in the adjacent south-east block of the barracks). In 1885 the Department (together with the Advanced Course) moved to the nearby
Red Barracks and was renamed
Artillery College. By the 1880s, the
Field Artillery (together with their horses) had been provided with separate barracks accommodation nearby: one
brigade in the
Hut Barracks, another in the
Grand Depot & Engineer Barracks. The Garrison Artillery remained in the south range of the Artillery Barracks (where the
District Staff R.A. were also accommodated). The Horse Artillery continued to occupy the two quadrangles. One of the northernmost blocks now housed a cavalry regiment. In 1893–94 a Church of England Soldiers' Institute was built in the north-east corner of the site, providing a concert hall, library and reading room, music room, games rooms and other facilities. After World War II, the future of the barracks was kept under discussion. Finally, in 1956, the decision was taken that the Royal Artillery would retain it as their
depot, but with everything behind the south front demolished and rebuilt (with the exception of Wyatt's Officers' Mess, which would remain
in situ). Over the next ten years twelve new three-storey barrack blocks were erected on the site. Initially, the north, west and east triumphal arches (which were all
listed buildings) were retained; those to the east and west were demolished in 1965, to make way for a gym and a computer centre, and three years later the north arch was lost to road widening (a plan that it would be dismantled and re-erected coming to nothing). The retained south range blocks were reconfigured internally, and a replica of the destroyed easternmost block was built. In 1973 the barracks were designated as a
Grade II* listed building. On 23 November 1981, the
Provisional Irish Republican Army targeted Government House of the Royal Artillery on Woolwich New Road in a bomb attack which injured two people. In 1983 the barracks itself was targeted, again by the IRA, in a
bombing that injured five soldiers.
21st century rebuilding and rundown Since the nineteenth century, the appropriateness of Woolwich as a base for the Artillery had been questioned. Suggestions of a move came to nothing until a Defence Estates Review in 2003 proposed a move to
Larkhill on
Salisbury Plain (where the
Royal School of Artillery has been based since 1915). After very nearly 300 years in Woolwich, the last Artillery (the
16th Regiment) left the barracks in July 2007. In 2008–11 the barracks were again largely rebuilt behind the south façade. The place of the Artillery was taken by the
public duties line infantry battalion and
incremental companies of the
Foot Guards (who moved in from
Chelsea Barracks and
Cavalry Barracks). Soon afterwards, the Second Battalion the
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was posted to Woolwich from Cyprus. In 2012, an artillery link was regained when the
King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, moved from the
St John's Wood Barracks to a new headquarters on the Woolwich site, bringing with them a complement of 120 or thereabouts horses, historic gun carriages and artillery pieces used in their displays. Following the departure of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, the First Battalion
Royal Anglian Regiment moved into the Barracks in 2014. On 24 May 2013 Drummer
Lee Rigby, of the 2nd Battalion,
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was murdered by Islamists just outside the Barracks in a terrorist attack. Drummer Rigby was stationed at the barracks.
Planned closure In November 2016 the
Ministry of Defence announced that the site would close in 2028, with all army units currently stationed in Woolwich scheduled to be relocated. In 2020, it was announced that the adjacent Napier Lines were to be retained as the base of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. Nevertheless, in December 2020
Greenwich Borough Council unanimously passed a motion to oppose the sale of the historic barracks; by this time petitions to save the barracks had amassed over 9,000 signatures. ==Curtilage==