Officers' Quarters, Wolseley Barracks

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The south wing of the building was once the officers' quarters. The separate entrances indicate different apartments or dwellings within this wing of the building. The southwest corner apartment originally belonged to the Commanding Officer. The south lawn, in front of the officers’ quarters, was used for social events until the 2000s.

Images

Hunt at Wolseley Barracks

Wolseley Barracks, Officers Quarters, London Ont, Canada

Wolseley Barracks, South Wing

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The south wing of the barracks building was designed as an officers’ quarters. The south wing is more elaborate than the other parts of the building. It is designed to resemble terraced housing (or townhouses). The wing is composed of six different dwellings, or apartments. The two dwellings at each end are three-stories, while those in the centre are two. Each dwelling is distinguished by a gabled structure at the base of the roof with a finial feature at the apex and a bull’s eye window in the centre. The apartment at the southwest corner of the building belonged to the Commanding Officer.

The south lawn was used for social events, such as garden parties, up until the 2000s. The London Advertiser in October 1893 describes when the officers of the regiment hosted the London Hunt Club for a hunt, followed by a reception on the lawn that including Mrs. John Labatt and Mrs. Carling of the two famous brewing families. Many of the original trees planted in the southern lawn have been cut down, but the large stumps visible in some areas give an idea of their placement.

Sources

1886, architectural drawings by Henry James, Archives and Research Collection Centre, Western University, London, ON, Durand-Moore Fond.

"Soldiers Entertain Hunters." The London Advisor (London ON) October 14th 1893. p. 10 Accessed 23 June 2020. http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.N_00255_189307/781?r=0&s=3

"Wolseley Barracks National Historic Site of Canada", Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Accessed June 23rd 2020. https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=417 .

Ware, Francis B. "The Old Barracks." in The Regimental Rogue, edited by Michael O'Leary. Accessed June 23rd 2020. http://www.regimentalrogue.com/blog/index.blog/2359257/wolseley-barracks/ .

Image Sources(Click to expand)

The RCRM Collection

The RCR Museum Photograph