East Street drill hall, Bromley
| East street drill hall | |
|---|---|
| Bromley | |
East street drill hall | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Drill hall |
| Location | |
East street drill hall Location within Greater London | |
| Coordinates | 51°24′27″N 0°01′00″E / 51.40761°N 0.01653°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1872 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1872-1947 |
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 in the 60's to 90's, mainly as an overflow area to sort packets at Christmas. It was converted for retail use in 1997 and is currently an O'Neils pub.[6]
References
- ^ "Bromley". The drill hall project. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Bromley Directory. 1903. p. 149.
- ^ "5th Battalion, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 27 December 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ "Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ^ "Bank Street drill Hall". Kent in World War I. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ "O'Neill's Bromley". O'Neill's. Retrieved 24 September 2017.