Officers Mess

Details

584/0/10052 Officers Mess McMunn Barracks
08-APR-02

GV II

Officer's Barracks and Mess Hall. 1930s with minor C20 alterations. Red and brown brick in Flemish bond, with red brick to quoins, cornice and window openings and rubbed red brick to segmental window arches. Portland stone to entrance porch, linking colonnades, and window cills and keyblocks. Red tile hipped roofs with brick stacks capped in stone. Neo-Georgian style.

PLAN: Main rectangular block with projecting wings to rear at each end, and flanked by a pair of open C-shaped pavilions with rear service blocks, and joined to the main block by colonnades.

EXTERIOR: Two-storey-plus-attic central block of 5 parts: To each end, corner parapet towers of 2 window bays to main elevation and 2 bays to the return with slightly advanced corner pilasters capped with Portland stone cornices and urns. Central range of 11 window bays at all floors, 4 bays to each side of central Portland stone porch. Porch with stone balustrade accessed by central first floor door flanked by paired thin 4-over-6 sashes. Below, porch supported by 4 pairs of stone columns, those to corners piers. Frieze with triglyphs, metopes and exaggerated dentils. Segmental arch windows to ground and first floors, those to ground, 12-over-16 sashes, those to first, 8-over-12 sashes. Attic storey of 11 dormers with hipped roofs and casements (replaced late-C20). Thin and deep chimneys straddling ridge with stone cornices, 2 over central bay, 1 each to inside of corner towers. Rear elevation with similar multi-pane sashes and dormers, irregularly arranged to accommodate interior spaces. Central Venetian-style sashes to first floor centre. Projecting rear wing to south with domestic facade comprising flat roof porch to central entrance flanked by 4-over-4 sashes and under 4-over-4, 6-over-6, and 4-over-4 sashes.
Colonnades of 1-storey and 3 bays linking main block to each pavilion. 4 pairs of stone columns, those to ends engaged piers, those to back of colonnade engaged pilasters to brick wall with central arch to rear yards. Frieze with triglyphs, metopes and exaggerated dentils similar to main porch. Pavilions to each side with 2 storeys of 10, 6-over-6 sashes, slightly taller to ground floor. Outside arm of each pavilion angles forward with 4 windows. Central window to each floor of end elevations. Square brick chimneys, 1 to each arm of pavilions straddling ridge with stone cornice caps, and one to rear.

INTERIOR: Main block with double glass doors with wood mullions and overlights with oval and diamond motif mullions to glazed vestibule, each fixed panel similarly detailed. Inner entrance similarly detailed. Central hall with skylit spine corridor to each side and opening to dining room to south and sitting room to north. Both rooms with pilasters to inner and outer walls linked by panelled box beams. Cornice and deep frieze to picture rail that wraps pilasters. Classical-style wood fireplace to sitting room that leads to Officers' bar. Service and meeting rooms to rear of spine corridor. Wood stair to back of central hall with turned balusters and at landing, tall round-headed 12-over-8 sash with fanlight flanked by 4-over-4 sashes. Secondary stairs to rear projecting wings. Upper floors, dormitory rooms off spine corridor with wash rooms in the rear wings. Communal room to front centre opening to porch and with built-in cupboards. Door surrounds with Art Deco style stepped design. Colonnades of partially open linking corridor to Pavilions. 4 suites of rooms to each floor of barracks Pavilions, divided internally by built-in panelled cupboards. Rear block with washrooms. Coved cornice to corridors.

HISTORY: Built in mid-1930s as part of the Colchester Garrison in the neo-Georgian style influenced by the Royal Fine Arts Commission.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

488693

Legacy System:

LBS

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.