Berwick Barracks, Military barracks and museum in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England.
Berwick Barracks is a military compound and museum in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, made up of two parallel stone buildings and a third structure that together enclose a central courtyard. The site also includes an entrance gateway, a guardhouse, and the Clock House, all of which are still standing.
Nicholas Hawksmoor designed the barracks between 1717 and 1721 for the Board of Ordnance, at a time when the border region needed stronger military control during the Jacobite risings. The site is considered one of the earliest purpose-built barracks in England.
The 'By Beat of Drum' exhibition inside presents objects and photographs from the daily lives of British infantry soldiers. It gives a grounded sense of how ordinary soldiers lived and worked over the centuries.
The site is easy to walk around, and the different buildings and exhibition areas are clearly connected. Spending time in the courtyard is worthwhile, since it gives a good sense of how the whole compound is laid out.
Although Hawksmoor is best known for his churches and university buildings, this compound is one of his very few surviving military works. The clock on the Clock House is still working and can be heard striking the hours across the site.
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