Dale Barracks

Dale Barracks
Chester
Dale Barracks
Location within Cheshire
Coordinates 53°13′31″N 02°53′42″W / 53.22528°N 2.89500°WCoordinates: 53°13′31″N 02°53′42″W / 53.22528°N 2.89500°W
Type Barracks
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator  British Army
Site history
Built 1939
In use 1939-1956
1987-Present

Dale Barracks is a military installation at Upton near Chester.

History

The barracks are situated in the grounds of Moston Hall, a house built in 1789 for Richard Massey.[1] The house was acquired by the Swetenham family who sold it to the Lockett family in 1918.[2] It later became a military hospital.[3] The hospital was made available for civilian use in 1960.[4]

The rest of the site was occupied by a house known as The Dale which was built in the 1880s and was bought by the War Office in 1938.[2] The Dale became the depot of the Cheshire Regiment and the Manchester Regiment in 1939.[5] During Second World War the Machine Gun Training Centre was established there and after the War it became a Primary Training Centre for infantry training.[5] Between 1956 and 1987 the Dale was used as a secure asylum after which it was returned to military use as the officer's mess for the barracks of the 1st Battalion the King's Regiment.[5] The 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh moved out of the barracks in April 2014[6] and the 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment arrived in July 2014.[7]

References

  1. "Moston Hall". Parks and Gardens. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Moston Hall". History of Upton by Chester. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  3. "Chapel of the Military Hospital (Moston Hall)". National Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. "Faculty of Health and Social Care Riverside Museum". Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Military & Wartime Activities during the 20th Century". History of Upton by Chester. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  6. "Royal Welsh bids farewell to Dale Camp". Chester Chronicle. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  7. "Dale Barracks Chester welcomes 2 Mercian Regiment". Ministry of Defence. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.