Building recording at Area K1, the former Cavalry Barracks, Butt Road, Colchester, Essex – May 2011

A programme of building recording was carried out by the Colchester Archaeological Trust on six buildings at the decommissioned Cavalry Barracks, Colchester Garrison, Colchester, Essex. The work was commissioned by the RPS Group on behalf of the landowner Taylor Wimpey. The buildings date from the early 1860s to the latter half of the 20th century. None of the buildings are listed but they include some of the last examples of post-Crimean War innovative barracks design first developed at Aldershot. The majority of the original internal fixtures and fittings have been removed or altered, and three of the buildings have been partially demolished. These alterations have had a significant impact upon the functionality of the buildings as originally designed. The value of these buildings is in their design and in their links and associations with military and historical events over the past 150 years.