Married Quarters (Verne Citadel)
The two blocks of former Married Quarters are located within the Verne Citadel. They were built in the 1870s for the married soldiers and non-commissioned officers garrisoned at the citadel and their families. After the citadel's military use ended in 1948, HM Prison The Verne was established there in 1949 and the two blocks were used to house some of the prison's officers and their families.
The two blocks were last occupied in the mid-1980s and are now derelict. Unlike many of their contemporaries within the Verne Citadel, they have not received listed building status.
History
Construction and use of the quarters by the Army (1872-1948)
The Verne Citadel was built between 1858 and 1884 as one of the fortifications defending the new harbour of refuge at Portland, which was formed with the construction of two breakwater arms between 1849 and 1872. The citadel was able to hold a garrison of up to 1,000 men and most of the soldier accommodation was provided in casemates along its southern side, but other accommodation was also available, including married quarters within the citadel's northern region. They provided the accommodation for married soldiers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and their families. The men who were married "on the strength" of the regiment had to meet certain criteria, such as having provided at least seven years of service, and required the permission of their commanding officer. He would only grant a small number of requests; other ranks such as sergeants had much higher percentages but in Victorian times the number of married soldiers and NCOs in a regiment could not exceed 7% from 1867 and 4% from 1876.
The Verne's first block of purpose-built married quarters ('A' Block) was constructed in 1872 and the second ('B' Block) in 1874. During the same period, detached facilities for the two blocks were built nearby, including a latrine block, containing separate sections for soldiers, women and children, and a wash house and laundry, built in 1873 and complete with drying closet. An infant school with attached schoolmistress' quarters was also constructed in 1873-74. Both blocks of quarters and their associated buildings were constructed by convicts from Portland Prison in Portland stone. The governor of the prison, in his yearly reports from the time of their construction, described the two-storey blocks as "handsome" and "commodious". They were identical and originally contained twenty-four quarters in each, twelve on each floor. A hand pump in the middle of the yard between them provided water for cooking as there was no water supply into the quarters until the early 20th century.
A third block of married quarters, designated 'C' Block, was also in use during the citadel's early years. The building was built in the 1850s as part of the original Portland Barracks established on Verne Hill, where it provided soldiers' quarters and other facilities such as a cook house, ablution room, cleaning room and stores. During the 1860s, once soldier accommodation became available in the new casemates to the south, the building is likely to have been the one which contained the citadel's earliest married quarters, before the two purpose-built blocks were built. It had approximately 16 quarters and was demolished in c. 1900.
In c. 1905, the internal layout of 'A' and 'B' Blocks was altered to provide twelve quarters in each. Eleven of these were 'A' class quarters, comprising one living room and one bedroom, and the twelfth, a 'B' class quarter, provided an additional bedroom for those with larger families. Rendered brick extensions were also added around the outside of both buildings to provide each quarter with its own scullery and W.C., allowing the redundant latrine block to the north to be demolished in 1909. The nearby staff sergeants' quarters was also utilised as married quarters around this period, providing a further two 'B' class quarters. A number of additional quarters, mainly wooden bungalows, were erected around the two blocks in the 1920s or 1930s.
Use of the quarters by staff of HM Prison The Verne (1949-1990s)
When the military use of the Verne Citadel came to an end in 1948, the government quickly identified it as a potential site for a new prison in response to the general overcrowding seen in the UK's prisons at the time. That year, the War Office returned the Verne to the Admiralty and, in turn, they agreed to hand over the site to the Home Office. HM Prison The Verne was established in 1949 and the former married quarters provided accommodation for some of the prison officers and staff and their families, as did some of the other former Army quarters, such as the wooden bungalows, on the surrounding land.
In the 1950s, new properties were constructed in the area, primarily prefabs, and at some point, the internal layout of the two blocks was changed once again to provide four spacious flats in each, with 'A' Block containing Nos. 37 to 40 The Verne and 'B' Block containing Nos. 43-46 The Verne. A number of semi-detached properties were built in the vicinity in the 1960s and some of these replaced some of the former Army quarters of 1920s/30s date. All but ten of the mid-20th century properties in the area were demolished in c. 1980 and the two blocks ceased occupation in the mid-1980s. They were then used by the prison for control and restraint training into the early 1990s, until they were deemed too dangerous to use.
Post-prison use and recent years (1990s-)
In 1993, after being transferred by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Crown Estate Commissioners began marketing approximately 12.5 acres of the Verne's land outside of the prison's perimeter, including the two blocks. Drivers Jonas, in their "Portland Harbour Study", published in 1994, reported that the cost of restoring or demolishing the blocks and other derelict properties on the site "would be considerable". The large plot of land in the south-east region of the Verne, approximately half of the total land for sale, was sold in 1995 and included the former residence of the commanding officer and later prison governor. Meanwhile, the other large plot of land available, with the two blocks and eight derelict semi-detached properties (Nos. 5, 6, 41, 42, 47, 48, 49 and 50 The Verne), remained unsold.
In 2017, GNS Property Limited of Weymouth purchased the land for £200,000, exclusive of VAT. No restoration or redevelopment work has commenced since then and it has been reported that, now the buildings are no longer owned by the prison, either an agreement with them or alternative supplies of water, sewerage, electric and gas must be found. Both blocks remain derelict and although they have not received listed building status by Historic England, the Portland Neighbourhood Plan recognises their "local heritage value" and states that reuse of the site would be "supported provided that the renovation or alteration is designed sensitively, and with careful regard to the historical and architectural interest and setting".
Both the associated former wash house/laundry and infant school buildings survive and remain in the ownership of the prison. The wash house and laundry building was altered and significantly extended in the c. 1960s. It served as the prison officers' club for a number of years and is now in use as HMP The Verne's conference centre. The infant school has also been altered and its attached schoolmistress' quarters demolished. It is used by the prison for storage, including gardening equipment.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Dorset Council - Neighbourhood Plan for Portland 2017-2031 - Policy No. Port/EN8 The Verne - pages 35-36 - PDF document
2) HM Land Registry - Title register for Land at The Verne, Portland, DT5 1EG - DT427958
3) HM Land Registry - Title register for The Governors House, The Verne, Portland, DT5 1EG - DT227192
4) J. A. Story and Partners - aerial photography from July 1972
5) Ordnance Survey - various maps, including 1960 and 1975
6) Portland Harbour Consortium - Portland Harbour Study - Drivers Jonas - January 1994 - final report (held in the archives of the Dorset History Centre)
7) Reports of the directors of convict prisons on discipline and management for the years 1872, 1873 and 1874 - Portland Prison: Extracts from the governor's report
8) The National Archives - Dorset: Portland Barracks - MPHH 1/211 - declassified plan - 1859 - website page
9) The National Archives - Plan of Verne Citadel - WO 78/669- declassified plans and maps - 1879 - website page (with thanks to Duncan Williams)
10) The National Archives - Portland, Verne Hill - declassified plans - WO 78/2721 - 1874 (revised to 1884) - website page
11) The National Archives - Verne Barracks, Portland: Skeleton Record Plan of Barracks. - WO 78/3610 - declassified plans and maps - 1908 - website page (with thanks to Duncan Williams)
12) The Redan (issue 50) - Tom Atkins Married - Duncan Williams - October 2000 - article
The two blocks were last occupied in the mid-1980s and are now derelict. Unlike many of their contemporaries within the Verne Citadel, they have not received listed building status.
History
Construction and use of the quarters by the Army (1872-1948)
The Verne Citadel was built between 1858 and 1884 as one of the fortifications defending the new harbour of refuge at Portland, which was formed with the construction of two breakwater arms between 1849 and 1872. The citadel was able to hold a garrison of up to 1,000 men and most of the soldier accommodation was provided in casemates along its southern side, but other accommodation was also available, including married quarters within the citadel's northern region. They provided the accommodation for married soldiers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and their families. The men who were married "on the strength" of the regiment had to meet certain criteria, such as having provided at least seven years of service, and required the permission of their commanding officer. He would only grant a small number of requests; other ranks such as sergeants had much higher percentages but in Victorian times the number of married soldiers and NCOs in a regiment could not exceed 7% from 1867 and 4% from 1876.
The Verne's first block of purpose-built married quarters ('A' Block) was constructed in 1872 and the second ('B' Block) in 1874. During the same period, detached facilities for the two blocks were built nearby, including a latrine block, containing separate sections for soldiers, women and children, and a wash house and laundry, built in 1873 and complete with drying closet. An infant school with attached schoolmistress' quarters was also constructed in 1873-74. Both blocks of quarters and their associated buildings were constructed by convicts from Portland Prison in Portland stone. The governor of the prison, in his yearly reports from the time of their construction, described the two-storey blocks as "handsome" and "commodious". They were identical and originally contained twenty-four quarters in each, twelve on each floor. A hand pump in the middle of the yard between them provided water for cooking as there was no water supply into the quarters until the early 20th century.
A third block of married quarters, designated 'C' Block, was also in use during the citadel's early years. The building was built in the 1850s as part of the original Portland Barracks established on Verne Hill, where it provided soldiers' quarters and other facilities such as a cook house, ablution room, cleaning room and stores. During the 1860s, once soldier accommodation became available in the new casemates to the south, the building is likely to have been the one which contained the citadel's earliest married quarters, before the two purpose-built blocks were built. It had approximately 16 quarters and was demolished in c. 1900.
In c. 1905, the internal layout of 'A' and 'B' Blocks was altered to provide twelve quarters in each. Eleven of these were 'A' class quarters, comprising one living room and one bedroom, and the twelfth, a 'B' class quarter, provided an additional bedroom for those with larger families. Rendered brick extensions were also added around the outside of both buildings to provide each quarter with its own scullery and W.C., allowing the redundant latrine block to the north to be demolished in 1909. The nearby staff sergeants' quarters was also utilised as married quarters around this period, providing a further two 'B' class quarters. A number of additional quarters, mainly wooden bungalows, were erected around the two blocks in the 1920s or 1930s.
Use of the quarters by staff of HM Prison The Verne (1949-1990s)
When the military use of the Verne Citadel came to an end in 1948, the government quickly identified it as a potential site for a new prison in response to the general overcrowding seen in the UK's prisons at the time. That year, the War Office returned the Verne to the Admiralty and, in turn, they agreed to hand over the site to the Home Office. HM Prison The Verne was established in 1949 and the former married quarters provided accommodation for some of the prison officers and staff and their families, as did some of the other former Army quarters, such as the wooden bungalows, on the surrounding land.
In the 1950s, new properties were constructed in the area, primarily prefabs, and at some point, the internal layout of the two blocks was changed once again to provide four spacious flats in each, with 'A' Block containing Nos. 37 to 40 The Verne and 'B' Block containing Nos. 43-46 The Verne. A number of semi-detached properties were built in the vicinity in the 1960s and some of these replaced some of the former Army quarters of 1920s/30s date. All but ten of the mid-20th century properties in the area were demolished in c. 1980 and the two blocks ceased occupation in the mid-1980s. They were then used by the prison for control and restraint training into the early 1990s, until they were deemed too dangerous to use.
Post-prison use and recent years (1990s-)
In 1993, after being transferred by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Crown Estate Commissioners began marketing approximately 12.5 acres of the Verne's land outside of the prison's perimeter, including the two blocks. Drivers Jonas, in their "Portland Harbour Study", published in 1994, reported that the cost of restoring or demolishing the blocks and other derelict properties on the site "would be considerable". The large plot of land in the south-east region of the Verne, approximately half of the total land for sale, was sold in 1995 and included the former residence of the commanding officer and later prison governor. Meanwhile, the other large plot of land available, with the two blocks and eight derelict semi-detached properties (Nos. 5, 6, 41, 42, 47, 48, 49 and 50 The Verne), remained unsold.
In 2017, GNS Property Limited of Weymouth purchased the land for £200,000, exclusive of VAT. No restoration or redevelopment work has commenced since then and it has been reported that, now the buildings are no longer owned by the prison, either an agreement with them or alternative supplies of water, sewerage, electric and gas must be found. Both blocks remain derelict and although they have not received listed building status by Historic England, the Portland Neighbourhood Plan recognises their "local heritage value" and states that reuse of the site would be "supported provided that the renovation or alteration is designed sensitively, and with careful regard to the historical and architectural interest and setting".
Both the associated former wash house/laundry and infant school buildings survive and remain in the ownership of the prison. The wash house and laundry building was altered and significantly extended in the c. 1960s. It served as the prison officers' club for a number of years and is now in use as HMP The Verne's conference centre. The infant school has also been altered and its attached schoolmistress' quarters demolished. It is used by the prison for storage, including gardening equipment.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Dorset Council - Neighbourhood Plan for Portland 2017-2031 - Policy No. Port/EN8 The Verne - pages 35-36 - PDF document
2) HM Land Registry - Title register for Land at The Verne, Portland, DT5 1EG - DT427958
3) HM Land Registry - Title register for The Governors House, The Verne, Portland, DT5 1EG - DT227192
4) J. A. Story and Partners - aerial photography from July 1972
5) Ordnance Survey - various maps, including 1960 and 1975
6) Portland Harbour Consortium - Portland Harbour Study - Drivers Jonas - January 1994 - final report (held in the archives of the Dorset History Centre)
7) Reports of the directors of convict prisons on discipline and management for the years 1872, 1873 and 1874 - Portland Prison: Extracts from the governor's report
8) The National Archives - Dorset: Portland Barracks - MPHH 1/211 - declassified plan - 1859 - website page
9) The National Archives - Plan of Verne Citadel - WO 78/669- declassified plans and maps - 1879 - website page (with thanks to Duncan Williams)
10) The National Archives - Portland, Verne Hill - declassified plans - WO 78/2721 - 1874 (revised to 1884) - website page
11) The National Archives - Verne Barracks, Portland: Skeleton Record Plan of Barracks. - WO 78/3610 - declassified plans and maps - 1908 - website page (with thanks to Duncan Williams)
12) The Redan (issue 50) - Tom Atkins Married - Duncan Williams - October 2000 - article
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