Middle Street Drill Hall
Originally constructed in 1861, by the mid-1890s, the drill hall required replacement and a new building was constructed circa 1895 by local builder Peter Jenkins[1].
During WW1, the Drill Hall was occupied as the 27th Depot of the Southern Command[2], the 1/5th Cinque Ports Battalion of the Territorial Army being known to have headquartered here in August of 1914 prior to their move to France.
The hall was occupied by the 5th Battalion of the (Cinque Ports) Royal Sussex Regiment during the 1920s[3] taking their name of 'The Royal Sussex Drill Hall' for a period[4], later becoming a warehouse for a fruiterer by the 1930s.
Demolition
The building was demolished with much of the surrounding road in the mid-1980s, with the site now being under Priory Meadow shopping centre.
Images
- Images
Middle Street Drill Hall c1920
50-55 Middle Street - c1980
55-50 Middle Street c1980
References & Notes
- ↑ Cinque Ports Volunteers
- ↑ The Long, Long Trail Territorial Force Depots accessed: 17 August 2020
- ↑ Kelly's 1923
- ↑ British Newspaper Archive Hastings & St. Leonards Observer 29 March 1913 Pg. 0003
