Eastney Barracks


Eastney Barracks was a military installation occupied by the Royal Marines and located at Eastney near Portsmouth.

History

Eastney Barracks, designed by William Scamp, was built as headquarters for the Royal Marine Artillery, who moved in from Fort Cumberland in 1867. After the amalgamation of the Royal Marine Light Infantry and Royal Marine Artillery in 1923, Forton Barracks was closed and Eastney Barracks served as headquarters for the Portsmouth Division of the Corps. The series of seven linked blocks facing the sea forms the second longest barracks frontage in the country. The ensemble has been called "the best and most complete barracks of the post-Crimean War period". Eastney Barracks remained the Corps Headquarters until 1995, when it was sold and converted to private housing. The Royal Marines Museum, established there in 1958, was accommodated in the former officers' mess at Eastney Barracks from 1972 to 2017.

Local folklore and legend

The Barracks are reportedly home to two ghosts. One is a young girl, seen around the main steps to the entry, who according to local legend was crushed to death when she ran in front of a horse-drawn carriage. The other is the smell of burning and a depressing atmosphere, experienced by staff in the attic, which has been linked to the local legend of a 19th-century officer called Colonel Wolf who burnt his love letters and shot himself there after the end of a love affair. It was therefore the location for an episode of the Antix Productions series Most Haunted Live! broadcast on 7 May 2006 as part of its Panic In Portsmouth strand, which included episodes from Wymering Manor and Southsea Castle.

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