The Peninsular Barracks, Winchester - The King’s Barracks Destroyed by Fire

This was originally the site of a royal castle built by William the Conquerer is 1069. Over the subsequent years, the castle saw growth, expansion and wars, under the changing faces of the English monarchy. Until 1645, when Cromwell and his parliamentarian forces overran it during the English Civil War. They sacked it, destroying the majority of the castle.

It was left in ruins until Charles II restored the monarchy and commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to design a palace for him on the site of the old castle. Building work for the palace was never completed, and the buildings were used as barracks for the Royal Green Jackets in 1794. In 1894, the barracks were destroyed by a fire, and the rebuilding work wasn’t completed until 1902.