History

 

Disturbed by the French Revolution of 17XX, the British Government anxiously awaited a French invasion. The Government took strict measures to enlarge the armed forces. In Devon, the Government set two new barracks: one for the cavalry in the Higher Barracks at St. David in Exeter and another for the artillerymen in the barracks at Topsham. 

 

The construction of the Higher Barracks began in 1794. They were initially meant to house the cavalry and were designed for 15 officers, 180 men and 202 horses. Inside the brick wall enclosure was a riding-school, hospital, farrier's shop, suttling- house (canteen), guard-house, powder magazine, granaries, and, as historian Jenkins described in XXXX, “every other convenience that could be adopted for the ease and comfort of the stationed troops”. Beyond providing permanent accommodation for a large standing army, the barracks were also intended to isolate the troops from the Revolutionary ideas spreading amongst the civilian population. The French invasion, however, never arrived. 

 

During the peaceful, first decade of the 20th century, the Government decided to cut back on the military and halted any further construction stretching to the West wall over Thornton Hill. 

 

As Britain entered WWI in 1914, however, the Higher Barracks regained their military purpose. The barracks were used as a military hospital. During WWII, the Higher Barracks were again used as a military hospital. They, furthermore, served to house the United States 500th Medical Collecting Company (60th Medical Battalion) in January 1944 in preparation for D-Day.

 

From 1980 to 1988 the Barracks were used by the Exeter University Officer Training Corps, initially attached to the 1st Battalion of the Wessex Regiment. They were then passed onto the 

Royal Army Pay Corps in 1897 and remained as such until they closed for redevelopment by Barratt Developments (one of the largest residential property development companies in the United Kingdom operating across England, Wales and Scotland) in the late 1990's for residential accommodation, to be named Horseguards. To date, the Higher Barracks house residents of the city of Exeter but have, by no means, lost their historical appeal. As you walk through the barracks, enclosed in a tall, red brick wall and promenade the green patios it is easy to imagine cavalry troops around the area.

 

The Higher Barracks are now preserved as a cultural heritage site by the Exeter City Council.