Government House is a building in Aldershot Garrison near Aldershot, Hampshire, England.
History
editThe house was built in Queen Anne revival style as the garrison commander's house in 1883.[1] A military horse cemetery was created in the grounds of the house in the late 1880s.[2] Most of the house was destroyed in a serious fire in January 1903, but there were no casualties and soldiers from nearby barracks managed to salvage much of the furniture and valuables.[3] The new house was remodelled internally and it became the garrison officers' mess.[4] In May 1904, shortly after the house re-opened, Lieutenant General Sir John French, Commanding the Troops at Aldershot, hosted a visit by the Prince and Princess of Wales there[5] and in July 1914 Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig, Commander-in-Chief Aldershot Command, was waiting anxiously inside the house when he heard that the First World War had broken out.[6]
In the 1920s and 1930s searchlight military tattoos were held in the grounds of Government House.[7] The house was designated as Grade II listed in 2002.[1] The building was again extensively refurbished in 2012 by Rydon[8] and the Queen's Dining Room continues to be used to entertain important visitors to the garrison.[4] The stables at the house will be converted for use as accommodation as part of the Army 2020 plan.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Historic England. "Government House Mess, Farnborough Road (1272436)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Warhorse". Army Golf Club. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Disastrous fire at Aldershot". The Times. No. 36979. London. 16 January 1903. p. 4.
- ^ a b "Government House". Rydon. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Group photograph including the Prince and Princess of Wales, taken at Aldershot, May 1904". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ Rowlands, p. 56
- ^ "The Aldershot Command Searchlight Tattoos". Aldershot Military Museum. Archived from the original on 23 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Aspirations" (PDF). Aspire Defence. Spring 2013. p. 9. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "MoD to reveal base plans for soldiers returning from Germany". Get Hampshire. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
Sources
edit- Rowlands, Murray (2015). Aldershot in the Great War: The Home of the British Army. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1783832026.