Prince William Barracks
I managed to access this twice in one day. But unfortunately the second time I was asked to leave by a builder who was working on building new homes to the north of Fort Amherst. From what Iv'e gathered on the internet, these new homes will cover a patch of land that's right above some old air raid shelters. There is a planning permission application to destroy and fill these in, but it has not been accepted yet (hopefully I can ask to check these out before they are destroyed, will post a report if I gain access)
History
These barracks were built between 1803-1811 and named after William, the third son of king George III, who became king William IV in 1830. The barracks is the largest building within the Fort Amherst complex and consists of 5 connected chambers. Originally, it was a 2 floor complex, but time has taken its toll and the first floor is now gone.
The barracks are constructed in a casemate brick fashion with very thick walls, as shown by the damaged ceiling photo below. It is thought that this damage occurred between 1948-1958 by Royal Engineers practising demolition, but I have also read that it was destroyed during a WW2 air raid (although there is no evidence of either theory)
They were in use until at least 1879, as they are marked on an 1879 War Department map as married soldiers quarters.
Now for photos:
First an aerial shot of the site:
This is the northern end of the barracks, with damaged ceiling:
And another slight closer:
The eastern side that faces the river Medway:
View through an eastern window:
Entrance to chamber 2 from chamber 1:
Northern entrance:
From the 4th chamber facing the northern entrance showing the connecting doorways between chambers 4, 3, 2 and 1:
Stairs leading up to southern entrance:
Looking out of the southern entrance:
And looking in:
Eastern side, this is on the 1st floor level:
Looking down from a 1st floor window:
And finally, my signature panoramic (worst one Iv'e done so far, will return to get a better one):
High resolution panoramic: http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad141/Fin9ers/UEBABY/Prince%20William%20Barracks/Chatham-FortAmherst-Tunnel-Explore043_800_344.jpg
