At home in the barracks: Tilbury Fort and the archaeology of post-medieval military buildings

Abstract

SUMMARY Since Douet’s landmark volume (1998), barrack architecture has received little scholarly attention – especially from archaeologists. This study draws a detailed biography of the Officers’ Barracks at Tilbury Fort, analyzing the importance of its domestic terraced form and highlighting the relevance of this case study to broader study of barrack buildings. The approach considers the building inextricable from its inhabitants and archaeological analysis of the fabric, internally and externally, reveals an institutional structure transformed into a ‘home’ by the privilege of the officers’ rank. The slow but steady development of a building constantly in use is etched into the fabric, as is the transient and diverse community that occupied it. The date and phasing of the structure is rethought as a consequence. This study demonstrates that this architectural type which is often presumed homogenous is actually subject to complex themes of social status and gender.