Officers Barracks and Attached Basement Area Walls and Rails

Details

TR 3242 DOVER QUEEN ELIZABETH ROAD
(north east side), Dover Castle
685/1/1OO05
Officers' barracks and attached
basement area walls and rails

II


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).


Listing NGR: TR3271141719

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

469565

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Newman, J, The Buildings of England: North East and East Kent, (1976), 293
Allibone, J, Anthony Salvin Pioneer of Gothic Revival Architecture 1799-1881, (1987), 183
Illustrated London News in Illustrated London News, (1858), 619

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.