Royal Marine Depot, Deal | |
|---|---|
| Deal, Kent | |
 Admiralty Mews (formerly East Barracks) | |
  Royal Marine Depot, Deal Location within Kent | |
| Coordinates | 51°13′03″N 1°24′08″E / 51.2175°N 1.4022°E |
| Type | Royal Marines Base |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1793 |
| Built for | War Office |
| Architect | James Johnson, John Sanders, Edward Holl et al. |
| In use | 1793-1996 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Royal Marines |
The Royal Marine Depot, Deal was a military installation occupied by the Royal Marines and located in an area between Lower Walmer and South Deal in Kent. The Depot (for training Royal Marine recruits) was first established in 1861,[1] occupying part of the Royal Naval Hospital (which was linked to H.M. Naval Yard, Deal).[2] In 1868 the Depot expanded and took over Walmer Barracks (the nearby 18th-century Army barracks); it was then generally referred to as the Royal Marine Depot, Walmer, but by the early 20th century it was officially listed as the Royal Marine Depot, Deal.[3]
From 1930, Deal served as the headquarters of the Royal Naval School of Music (founded in 1903 to provide Royal Marines bands for ships of the Royal Navy).[4] Renamed the Royal Marines School of Music after the Second World War, it expanded to provide musical training for both junior and senior recruits for all 36 Royal Marines bands.
In 1977 the training Depot closed; the site then became the headquarters of the newly re-formed 41 Commando and was renamed Royal Marines, Deal (however 41 Commando was disbanded just four years later).[4] In 1988 parts of the site were demolished and sold for housing, leaving only the Royal Marines School of Music, which remained at Deal until 1996 whereupon it relocated to HMNB Portsmouth.
- ^ Thomas, Garth (1994). Records of the Royal Marines. London: PRO Publications.
- ^ Coad, Jonathan (2013). Support for the Fleet: Architecture and engineering of the Royal Navy's bases, 1700-1914. Swindon: English Heritage.
- ^ Navy List, various editions.
- ^ a b Lane, Andrew (2000). Royal Marines Deal: a pictorial history. Tiverton: Halsgrove. ISBN 1-84114-081-3.