Engineers Establishment was founded within the barracks to provide instruction in military engineering. The Establishment grew, and by 1856 the Artillery had moved out; Brompton Barracks remains in service as headquarters of the Royal Engineers. St Mary's Barracks St Mary's Casemated Barracks were built during the Peninsular War and initially held French prisoners of war. After the war's end, they went on to serve as a gunpowder store for a time, and were used by the Royal Engineers (based nearby in Brompton Barracks). From 1844 St Mary's was used as an 'Invalid Barracks', accommodating soldiers having to return from service in different parts of the British Empire because of illness, injury or age. Built within the defensive earthworks to the north of Chatham, St Mary's Barracks was demolished in the 1960s and the land used for housing. Naval Barracks (HMS Pembroke) The Naval Barracks (later HMS Pembroke'') opened in 1902; prior to this, most Naval (as opposed to Dockyard) personnel were accommodated on board their ships or on hulks moored nearby. Built on the site of what had been the convict prison, the barracks complex could accommodate 4,742 officers and seamen in a series of large blocks built along the length of a terrace. Below the terrace lay the parade ground and its adjacent drill hall and other amenities. A further 3,000 troops could be accommodated in times of "total emergency" (900 were sleeping in the Drill Hall when it suffered a direct hit from two bombs in September 1917, which killed over 130 men). The barracks were set to close in 1961 when the majority of naval personnel were withdrawn from Chatham; however, it went on to serve instead as the RN Supply and Secretariat School in succession to , before finally being closed along with the Dockyard in 1984. The majority of its buildings are still standing, several of them occupied by the Universities at Medway. See also British narrow gauge railways Chatham Historic Dockyard Fort Darnet References Sources Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. External links The Historic Dockyard Trust A Geometrical Plan, & North West Elevation of His Majesty’s Dock-Yard, at Chatham, with ye Village of Brompton Adjacent, dated 1755 (Pierre-Charles Canot after Thomas Milton and John Cleveley the Elder) Buildings and structures in Kent History of Kent Military history of Kent Transport in Medway Royal Navy dockyards in England History of the Royal Navy Chatham