VR 1844 Ltd

29/02/2020

We have been trying to carry out emergency temporary roof repairs to part of the roof over the east range at the barracks for the past few weeks, but our amazing local roofing contractor Coastal Roofing lead by the wonderful Ricky have been hampered by storm after storm, making it unsafe to work at height in the strong winds.
As a business our staff and contractors health and safety always comes first no matter what.
We are in this for the long haul and know there will be some hold ups and delays, which are out of our hands and you do not tempt mother nature. But we will always complete and finish on what we start and make a good job of it, we would rather take our time and get it right, do things correctly, to a very high standard and get it signed off the first time.

20/02/2020

The bridge which allows access from the highways onto The Old Defensible Barracks is no longer secure and due to the risk to the public, building control at PCC have ordered that we block access to all vehicle traffic and that yellow lines should be placed at the turning circle to prevent difficulty in turning.
We apologises for any inconvenience this has caused and are working with CADW and PCC to repair/replace the bridge, please bear with us as a building of this significance requires a number of consents before work can take place.

09/02/2020

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/homes-property/property-news/inside-abandoned-victorian-barracks-dominates-17700390?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Defensible Barracks was built to house the Royal Marines defending the dockyard but was more recently declared one of the most endangered buildings in the UK

06/02/2020

Our poorly barracks. We will repair and bring you back to your former beauty.

06/02/2020

As owners/directors of VR1844 we are very proud to be the guardians of The Old Defensible Barracks, We have a different ethos to the traditional “Development Companies” you come across. Our aim is to give back to the local community as much as possible, engage with local trades persons and to create jobs where possible. This is our hope for The Old Defensible Barracks as we understand the importance of this building set within your community.
If you are a local trades person who would like the opportunity to bring the barracks back to life, please contact Tanya at [email protected].

28/01/2020

We are so proud to be part of this beautiful buildings rebirth and giving her back to her community.

NEW life will be breathed into an under-loved piece of British military history in Pembroke Dock, its new owners have said.

13/10/2019

Found this very humbling and tragic post about some serving personnel who lost their lives in an accident.

The plaque is still onsite and we will restore it and those amazing men will never be forgotten.

New page

13/10/2019

Found this old photo online, love the cannons, think we should try to get hold of some as all the orginal ones have gone, or have been cemented into the ground and turned into plant pots (heathens whoever did that!!!!)

12/10/2019

A famous resident of the fort

Arthur Lowe as Captain Mannering

Another famous resident of the Barracks was the actor Arthur Lowe who later found immortality as Captain Mainwaring in the TV show Dad's Army. He served there during the World War Two with the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry.

12/10/2019

How the fort got her name:

The place was first known as Treowen Barracks, after the nearby road, although the original intention was to call them The Prince Albert Barracks, in honour of Queen Victoria's husband. In the end, the name Defensible Barracks was adopted and it stuck.

The first occupants of the Defensible Barracks were the Royal Marines of the Portsmouth Division, transferring from their cramped and draughty quarters on the old woodenwall 'Dragon' which had served as their base for many years. They were soon joined by two companies from the West Yorkshire Regiment.

Over the years many fine and famous regiments were based in the barracks. These ranged from the Pembrokeshire Artillery to the Royal North Gloucestershire Regiment - and, in particular, the 24th Foot, better known as the South Wales Borderers.

12/10/2019

Big Oppsies have happened at the fort:

In the early days the deep moat surrounding the Barracks was not fenced in. Several soldiers, returning from a night in one of the town's many beer houses, fell into the open moat and were either seriously injured or killed.

It was a fate that also befell Dr Sumpter from the town - returning home late one night after treating a patient in nearby Pennar, he plunged into the darkened moat. The shock to his nervous system and several physical injuries were sufficient to kill him within a few days of the accident.

The most renowned victim of the unprotected moat, however, was an otherwise unremarkable Private in the Royal Marines, one John Harding. He pitched head first into the chasm in October 1850, his gravestone in the town cemetery recording his demise with the following words:

"Except the Lord direct our feet
And guide with gracious care;
At every step we danger meet,
In every path a snare.

Then reader pause, who e'er thou art,
As thus my grave you view;
Remember, thou from life must part -
Perhaps as quickly, too."

12/10/2019

Here is a little bit about the beautiful Defenisble Barracks:

The Defensible Barracks is a Grade II* listed and a Schedule Ancient Monument. Sitting on the crest of Barrack Hill, the Defensible Barracks has amazing views over the town and the Milford Haven waterway.

The barracks are said to have cost £75,000 to build, following the 'Star Fort' design initially proposed by Leonardo Da Vinci and is believed to be the last fortress built on this principle in Europe. It is a 20-sided stone fort surrounded by a dry moat with masonry walls. A parade ground occupies the centre of the fort.

The barracks were built in 1841–1846 to house the dockyard's garrison of Royal Marines and to cover the landward side of the dockyard from an infantry assault. It was is the last trace bastion fort built in Europe, that is not a ruin.

Prior to the Defensible Barracks' construction, the Royal Marines were housed in the hulked 74-gun ship, HMS Dragon, that had been deliberately run aground in 1832.

The barracks is in the form of a square bastion trace with four two-storey, barracks ranges surrounding the central parade ground. "The enclosed yard remains notable for being the finest Georgian-style square in Wales".
A fortified gatehouse is in the middle of the north wall. The moat is about 16 feet (4.9 m) deep and 42 feet (12.8 m) wide and is crossed by a fixed modern steel bridge that replaced the original wooden sliding drawbridge that leads to the gatehouse.

The scarp or inner wall of the moat rises above the height of the platform to serve as a parapet with musketry loopholes, except at the salient angles of the bastions to allow the guns mounted on the bastions' platform to fire over the parapet. All but the southwestern bastion still have some gun mountings remaining. The external walls of the gatehouse and the barracks ranges are also loopholed, although some of these have been fitted with sash windows, by the previous owners.

In 2009 the barracks was declared the second most endangered Victorian or Edwardian building in Britain.