HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY INFORMATION - HORSE GUARDS, COMBERMERE BARRACKS, AND KNIGHTSBRIDGE BARRACKS

THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY -

HORSE GUARDS & BARRACKS

IN LONDON AND WINDSOR

INTRODUCTION

During the reign of Charles II, The Life Guards
and Royal Horse Guards - along with some of the Foot Guards -
had accommodation provided in a number of the Royal Palaces,
or in the more important garrisons.

Notable ones were at the Tower Of London
(which was once a Royal Palace) in the late 1660s;
during the great plague in 1665; and temporary "barracks"
accommodation in Hyde Park.

Indeed, the word "barracks" - used to describe
accommodation for the military - seems to have been used
for the first time round about 1670, in describing the (then)
newly completed accommodation in the Tower Of London.

Prior to that, in 1664, there is evidence of Horse Guards
close to the Palace Of Westminster, St James' Palace,
Somerset House, Kensington Palace, Savoy Palace,
Tower Of London, and - some twenty years later - at Hampton Court.

At other times, as and when circumstances required,
extra troops were provided with billets in camps
in some of the Royal Parks.

Today, the Household Cavalry is accommodated at:

Combermere Barracks, Windsor

Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge, London

Horse Guards, Whitehall, London

. . . and don't forget the . . .

Household Cavalry Museum

Horse Guards, Whitehall

In the 1660s, there was a Horse Guards building, but not the present one.

Horse Guards occupies the site where, in 1533, King Henry VIII
commissioned the construction of a Tiltyard - between what was
the Royal Palace of Whitehall, and St James's Park -
later used by Queen Elizabeth I on which to stage two annual festivals,
one on the anniversary of her accession, and the other on her birthday.

In 1641, Charles I ordered his Surveyor of Works to build
". . . a Court of Guards in the Tiltyard before Whitehall"
to accommodate his personal guards, and a military force
to protect the Palace.

It was too late as, by the end of January 1642, Charles had fled
to Oxford, and the area had been taken over by the Parliamentarians.

Seven years later, Charles I was taken from St James's,
across the Park, and through the Tiltyard, to his execution
outside the Banqueting House on 30 January 1649.

Horse Guards as it now is, situated opposite the old War Office,
was sanctioned by George II in 1745, designed by William Kent,
and built over a ten-year period, to replace the original
which was deteriorating.

When rebuilt, the centre section of Horse Guards, over the archway,
held the court-martial office, a chapel, and military offices.

There was stabling for The Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards,
on the ground floor, and around the courtyard were other rooms.

The building still functions today as a brigade headquarters.

As today, there were two sentry boxes on the Whitehall side
for sentries of the Household Cavalry to guard the Palace gate opposite,
as well as Horse Guards itself.

Horse Guards fronts Horse Guards Parade, the vast parade ground
where the Queen takes the salute at the Trooping Of The Colour
ceremony on her official birthday.

It is the Headquarters of the General Officer Commanding London District,
and the Headquarters of The Household Cavalry - there has been
a mounted guard at Horse Guards every day since 1751.

The present occupant of the historic Levee Room, over the Archway,
is the Major General Commanding The Household Division.

Each day of the year, at 11.00 a.m. (on Sundays at 10.00 a.m.),
The Queen's Life Guard is changed at Horse Guards.

It is provided, on alternate days, by The Life Guards and
The Blues And Royals, the two Regiments which make up
The Household Cavalry.

There are two types of Queen's Life Guard - a Long Guard
(mounted when The Queen is resident in London), and a Short Guard
(mounted when The Queen is not resident in London).

In addition, there is a Four o'clock Parade each day,
for which the Captain of The Queen's Life Guard (Long Guard),
or the Orderly (Duty) Officer from Hyde Park Barracks (Short Guard)
inspects The Queen's Life Guard.

Long Guard
The Long Guard comprises: an Officer, a Corporal Major carrying
The Standard, a Corporal of Horse, a junior NCO, a Trumpeter,
11 Troopers, and a Stableman.

Short Guard
The Short Guard comprises: a Corporal of Horse, a junior NCO,
and 10 Troopers.

Should The Queen leave the Palace while the Guard is mounted,
or having been away return to the Palace while a Guard is mounted,
the composition of The Guard changes accordingly
- it must "make up" or "make down" to suit.

Also, the Royal Standard flies from the top of Buckingham Palace
when The Queen is in residence.

Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge

Hyde Park Barracks is situated at the edge of Hyde Park, in the heart of
London's shopping mecca, Knightsbridge.

It is home to men (and their families) and horses of the
Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which provides
Sovereign's Escorts, and Queen's Life Guard, as well as men
(and horses) for many other state and civic functions.

Around 1661/62 "stabling" was provided in Leicester Fields
and Hyde Park (origin of the barrracks in Knightsbridge),
and around twenty years later, Life Guards and Horse Grenadiers
had their headquarters in the Royal Mews, Charing Cross
(on the site of what is now the National Gallery).

Late in 1793, 1st and 2nd Life Troops of The Life Guards
were occupying new barracks - designed by James Johnson -
built on a strip of land between Hyde Park and Knightsbridge,
thought to be the first cavalry barracks in Britain.

The parade ground was small and damp, and very little sunlight
found its way in.

Officers' quarters were also incorporated within the barracks.

In 1878, the Hyde Park Barracks were rebuilt,
with taller buildings compensating for the lack of ground area.

The 1st and 2nd Life Guards occupied the barracks in 1880,
but in the late 1960s there came another rebuild - by Sir Basil Spence -
which introduced tower blocks in order to optimise the available space.

The entrance "pediment" to the present barracks came from
the riding school of the 1880 barracks.

The stables (refurbished 2005/2006) are located on two levels,
in order to capitalise on the available space, with two ramps -
one up, and one down - leading to the parade ground.

Coils are embedded in the concrete ramps, which can be heated
in cold weather, thus keeping the surfaces free of ice
which could cause horses to slip and fall.

Today, Hyde Park Barracks is home to some 300 Officers
and soldiers - and almost as many horses - of
the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Combermere Barracks, Windsor

Main Gates

Combermere Barracks, comprising over twenty acres - within
a mile of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire - is the home of
the Household Cavalry Regiment.

The barracks date back to 1804, from which time it has probably
always been the quarters of the Household Cavalry.

In 1953, there began a programme of redevelopment, which lasted
for some ten years, during which the accommodation for men,
horses, and vehicles was modernised.

Some specific buildings are of later development - the Riding School
(dating from 1881), the LAD buildings, and the Quarter Master (Tech)
buildings - being updated in the 1970s.

Latterly, a gymnasium has been completed, and 2006 saw
work well under way into bringing the accommodation buildings
up to the standards required today.

The situation was very different in the 1660s, when
men and horses were billeted around the many inns, taverns,
and ale-houses - in areas as far afield as Egham, Staines,
and Chertsey - with an inlying picquet based in the
nearest inns to Windsor Castle.

For many years two Corporals of Horse, on court duty to the Castle,
were billeted regularly either in the "White Hart" or the "Castle Hotel".

Note: See footnote re Lord Combermere at bottom of page.

Memorial

The Household Cavalry Regiment
Memorial, in Combermere Barracks

Memorial

Close-up of the Household Cavalry Regiment Memorial - a magnificent tribute

Potential recruits to the Household Cavalry should not be
put off by what they see on so-called reality shows on television -
modern Army accommodation may be better than you think!

The pictures below - of some of the new accommodation
buildings at Combermere Barracks, Windsor (including some interior
views) - give a taster of what new recruits can expect.

Washroom

Facilities are modern, clean,
tasteful and hygienic

Laundry

Excellent laundering

Men's Room

Smart, comfortable quarters
await new recruits

Accommodation

Views of the new accommodation units

Accommodation

More views of the new accommodation

"Home Sweet Home"

WOs Mess

Entrance to the WOs & NCOs Mess, Combermere Barracks

Footnote

Lord Combermere was a very able cavalry commander in charge
of Wellington's cavalry in the Peninsula from 1810 onwards.

He was Sir Stapleton Cotton in those days, and had served
in the Light Cavalry, gaining experience in the Nederlands,
the Cape, and India.

He gained distinction at the battle of Salamanca in 1812,
and the Siege of Bhurtpore in 1826.

He held the post of Colonel of the 1st Life Guards (Gold Stick)
for 36 years, from September 1829 to February 1865.

Household Cavalry Museum, Horse Guards

HC Museum

For years, Combermere Barracks (in Windsor) was home to
the priceless and irreplaceable objects that together record
the long, proud and honourable history of the Household Cavalry.

June 2007 saw the opening, by HM The Queen, Colonel in Chief of the Regiment,
of the brand new, purpose-built museum at Horse Guards.

The new museum allows for much more material to be on view,
displayed in ideal conditions, and available to a larger audience
than has hitherto been possible.

HC Museum

Anyone visiting London should do three things before leaving:

1. Watch the Changing of The Queen's Life Guard

2. Visit the Household Cavalry Museum

3. Come back and repeat the exercise