Brompton Barracks, Gymnasium
BROMPTON BARRACKS, GYMNASIUM, BROMPTON ROAD
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1375603
- Date first listed:
- 08-Jul-1998
- List Entry Name:
- Brompton Barracks, Gymnasium
- Statutory Address:
- BROMPTON BARRACKS, GYMNASIUM, BROMPTON ROAD
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1375603
- Date first listed:
- 08-Jul-1998
- List Entry Name:
- Brompton Barracks, Gymnasium
- Statutory Address 1:
- BROMPTON BARRACKS, GYMNASIUM, BROMPTON ROAD
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- BROMPTON BARRACKS, GYMNASIUM, BROMPTON ROAD
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Medway (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 76389 68895
Details
TQ 7668 NW GILLINGHAM BROMPTON POAD
(South side), Brompton
5/2
Brompton Barracks,
Gymnasium
GV II* (star)
Gymnasium at barracks. 1863, by Archibald Maclaren, building supervised by Captain Mann RE. Yellow brick, blue brick plinth and slate roof Italianate style. PLAN: T-shaped plan of gym, and school of arms with changing rooms at the end. Italianate style. EXTERIOR,: single storey; 7-window gym; sides 4-bay gable and 9-bay school of arms. Sides have arcades of pale rubbed brick round arches connected by a moulded impost band, with a Lombard frieze to the eaves, and 4-bay gables with an oculus; the N changing room end defined by rusticated clasping pilasters with 2 pairs of lower windows to the sides. Long sides to school of arms have alternate metal framed windows and blind bays. Main side to gym has a central gabled porch with a round-arched doorway and oculus above, tall windows each side, and blind windows to the end gables. At the crossing is a large square lead-clad lantern with pyramidal roof and finial. INTERIOR: contains a wide-span queen post roof with king post above the collar, a brick diaphragm arch at the changing room end to the public gallery and former officers' fencing room; escalading apparatus remains at one end of the gym. HISTORY: the second oldest surviving army gym after that at Sandhurst, designed by the pioneer of gymnasia, Maclaren, and when opened the largest and most advanced in the country. In 1862 gyms were ordered to be constructed at all the army barracks, staffed by the new Army Gymnastic Staff, to improve the physical standard of the soldiers. This early and complete example forms part of a good group of listed barrack buildings on both sides of the Brompton Road, and is included for its architectural interest and group value. (History of the Army Gymnastic StafF. 1952-: 1-10; journal of the United Studies Institute: Maclaren A: Military Gymnasia: 1865-: 217).
Listing NGR: TQ7638968895
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 469567
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Oldfield, E A L, History of the Army Gymnastic Staff, (1952), 1-10
Maclaren, A, Journal of the United Services Institute in Military Gymnasia, (1865), 217
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 21:57:37.
Download a full scale map (PDF)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.