East Street drill hall, Bromley

51°24′27″N 0°01′00″E / 51.40761°N 0.01653°E / 51.40761; 0.01653TypeDrill hallSite historyBuilt1872Built forWar OfficeIn use1872-1947

The East Street drill hall is a former military installation in Bromley.

History

The building was at first a music hall. It then became a drill hall for the 18th Kent Rifle Volunteers and was completed in 1872.[1] This unit went on to become E and F companies, 2nd Volunteer Battalion, the Queen's Own West Kent Regiment in 1883[2] and the 5th Battalion, The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) in 1908.[3] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to India.[4][5] After the battalion amalgamated with the 4th Battalion to form the 4th/5th Battalion at the Corn Exchange in Tonbridge in 1947, the East Street drill hall was decommissioned. Royal Mail then used it as a sorting office. It was converted for retail use in 1997.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Bromley". The drill hall project. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. ^ Bromley Directory. 1903. p. 149.
  3. ^ "5th Battalion, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 27 December 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Bank Street drill Hall". Kent in World War I. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. ^ "O'Neill's Bromley". O'Neill's. Retrieved 24 September 2017.