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Castle Armoury
Bury
Castle Armoury
Castle ArmouryLocation within Greater Manchester
Coordinates	53°35′39″N 2°17′55″W / 53.59422°N 2.29859°W / 53.59422; -2.29859
Type	Barracks
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	British Army
Site history
Built	1868
Built for	War Office
In use	1868-
Garrison information
Occupants	W company 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers B Detachment, 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital Bury Detachment ACF 1036 (Bury) Squadron ATC

The Castle Armoury is a military installation in Bury, Greater Manchester, England.

History

The armoury was designed as the headquarters of the 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps and built on the remains of Bury Castle in 1868. An extension exhibiting the same architectural features was opened by the Duke of Connaught in November 1907. The 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps evolved to become the 1st Volunteer Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1883 and the 5th Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the armoury in September 1914 before being deployed to the Suez Canal, then to Gallipoli and ultimately to the Western Front. The armoury remained the home of the 5th battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers through the inter-war period.

A major fire took hold at the armoury in January 1943 during the Second World War, in which a fireman died and the building was seriously damaged, and it was not until summer 1952 that the restoration was complete. After the war the armoury continued to be used by the 5th battalion the Lancashire Fusiliers until the battalion was disbanded in 1967. The armoury was then used by a company of the 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, a unit which evolved following amalgamations to become the Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers in July 1999 and 4th Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in July 2006. It is a Grade II Listed building.

The building closed in June 2022 with the owners, a trust, citing safety grounds. The leaser, the Ministry of Defence's Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association stated that funding was not available to carry out the estimated £2 million of urgent repairs, with further work required to modernise the building.

Former units

The following units were based at the armoury immediately before its closure:

British Army

• W (Gallipoli) Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
• B Detachment, 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps
• Lancashire Band and Corps of Drums of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

Community Cadet Forces

• Bury Detachment, Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force
• 1036 (Bury) Squadron, Greater Manchester Wing, Air Training Corps

See also

• Listed buildings in Bury

References

1. ^ "Castle Armoury". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
2. ^ "History of Castle Armoury". Retrieved 4 June 2017.
3. "Fusiliers in Bury" (PDF). Western Front Association. 30 November 2014. p. 17. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
4. "1st/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers: Tours and Postings". Lancashire Fusiliers. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
5. "Bury County Borough Directory". Metropolitan Borough of Bury. 1936. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
6. Britton, Paul (2022-07-04). "Historic drill hall Castle Armoury in Bury closes". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
7. "Nooks and Corners". Private Eye. No. 1579. 12 August 2022. p. 22.
8. "'Woefully neglected' armed forces base had 'no hot water or heating' for soldiers returning from active service". Bury Times. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
9. "Castle Armoury". Retrieved 17 April 2021.
10. "Fusilier from Middleton set for training mission in Canada". Rochdale News. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
11. "Army Reserve QARANC". Retrieved 17 April 2021.
12. "The Band & Corp of Drums of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers". Retrieved 17 April 2021.
13. "Greater Manchester Army Cadets". Retrieved 17 April 2021.
14. "1036 (Bury)". Retrieved 17 April 2021.

v t e Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, England
Buildings	Art Museum Bury Town Hall Castle Armoury Derby Hall Old White Lion Transport Museum Peel Monument Pilot Mill Radcliffe Tower
Places of worship	All Saints' Church, Stand Besses United Reformed Church Christ Church, Walshaw Holy Trinity Church St Margaret's Church, Prestwich St Marie's Church, Bury St Mary, Radcliffe Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury Church of St Mary the Virgin, Prestwich St Paul's Church
Education	Broad Oak High School Bury Church of England High School Bury College Bury Grammar School Bury Grammar School (Girls) Derby High School Elton High School Holy Cross College St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School
Transportation	Bury Interchange Bolton Street railway station Knowsley Street railway station
Shopping complexes	Bury Market
Sport and entertainment	Bury Cricket Club Gigg Lane The Met
Others	Fusilier Museum Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial Peel Memorial
Demolished	Bury Castle Wilton Mill, Radcliffe
Lists	List of schools in Bury List of mills in Bury
Listed buildings in	Bury Prestwich Radcliffe Ramsbottom Tottington Whitefield

• Drill halls in England
• Grade II listed buildings in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury