Jellalabad Barracks, Taunton

Jellalabad Barracks
Taunton
Jellalabad Barracks at Taunton with the Vivary Park Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain of 1907 in the foreground
Jellalabad Barracks Location within Somerset
Coordinates	51°00′40″N 3°06′05″W / 51.01123°N 3.10132°W / 51.01123; -3.10132Coordinates: 51°00′40″N 3°06′05″W / 51.01123°N 3.10132°W / 51.01123; -3.10132
Type	Barracks
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	British Army
Site history
Built	1879–1881
Built for	War Office
In use	1881-1999
Garrison information
Occupants	Somerset Light Infantry

Jellalabad Barracks was a military installation in Taunton.

History

The barracks were built in the built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and became the depot for the Somerset Light Infantry when they were completed between 1879 and 1881.^[1] The barracks were named after the Battle of Jellalabad in which the Regiment had taken part.^[1] Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces.^[2] Many recruits enlisted at the barracks at the start of the First World War.^[3]

The regiment remained at the barracks until it amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry in 1959. The barracks were sold for residential development in the early 1990s.^[4] Although many of the buildings were demolished in 1999,^[5] the keep still survives and is now a Grade II listed building.^[6]

References