to improve the sanitary condition of Britain's Army barracks and Hospitals) was scathing in its judgement of facilities at Chatham; in the years that followed several alterations were made to Chatham Barracks (which had changed little over the preceding century): an additional storey was added to several of the barrack blocks to help alleviate overcrowding, and new buildings were inserted among the old, containing improved facilities for cooking, washing and recreation. At around the same time the officers' blocks on the terrace were given over to provide accommodation for sergeants and married NCOs, the officers being provided with new quarters 'near the fortifications at Prince Henry's Bastion'. In 1865, following the opening of new and enlarged hospital facilities in Fort Pitt, the old Garrison Hospital was closed; its buildings (on what is now Maxwell Road) were converted into barracks and named 'Upper Chatham Barracks' (later 'Upper Kitchener Barracks'). New married quarters were also opened in March that same year, into which soldiers' families were moved, mostly from lodgings in the town. In 1928 Chatham Barracks was taken over by the Royal Engineers and renamed Kitchener Barracks. One barrack block remains from 1757; the rest was largely demolished and rebuilt to a more modern design in the 1930s–50s. The barracks remained in military use until 2014. In 2014 the site was sold to a property developer, with permission given the following year for the building of 295 homes. The main 1930s barracks building is being retained, along with the remaining earlier structures. The new development has retained the name Kitchener Barracks. Marine Barracks The Royal Marine Barracks, Chatham were established in 1779, on a site nestled between the Gun Wharf to the west, the Dockyard to the north, and Infantry Barracks to the east. The site was expanded and rebuilt in the 1860s; in 1905 the Royal Marines took over Melville Barracks, which stood between Dock Road and Brompton Hill (it had formerly served as Chatham's Royal Naval Hospital). The Marines were withdrawn from Chatham in 1950, and the buildings were later demolished. Medway Council offices and car park now stand on the site. Artillery/Engineer Barracks (Brompton Barracks) A barracks was built in Brompton from 1804 to 1806 for the Royal Artillery gunners serving on the defensive Lines (previously they had been accommodated in the Infantry Barracks). There was space for some 500 horses and 1,000 men. In 1812 the Royal