Catterick Garrison

History

The siting of the garrison was first recommended by Robert Baden-Powell who founded the Scouting movement in 1908 whilst he, as Inspector-General of Cavalry, was based at the army barracks—at that time located in Richmond Castle. On 12 August 1914, the order was issued for the construction of the camp, following the outbreak of the Great War. The original intention for Catterick was to be a temporary camp to accommodate two complete divisions with around 40,000 men in 2,000 huts. The base was originally named Richmond Camp until being changed to Catterick Camp in 1915, later modified to Catterick Garrison. After serving as a prisoner of war camp at the end of the Great War, the idea to make Catterick a permanent military barracks was first suggested after the partitioning of Ireland in 1921, the required land was purchased and building plans were put forward in 1923. Construction was undertaken by John Laing & Son and by the mid-1930s most of the camp's facilities were complete. During the Second World War the camp was once again used to house prisoners of war.

Governance

The town lies in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, within the Central Richmondshire electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and divided between the Hipswell and Scotton wards of Richmondshire District Council. The town is divided between two civil parishes. The southern part of the town, south of a small stream known as Leadmill Gill, is in the civil parish of Scotton. The northern part forms the greater part of the civil parish of Hipswell. Each parish has its own parish council.

The town is also within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which has been represented since 2015 by Conservative Rishi Sunak.

Geography

Catterick Garrison is located on the A6136 road, connecting Richmond with the A1 road at Catterick Village, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) to the east. Nearby settlements to Catterick Garrison include the suburban settlements of Scotton 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south and Hipswell 0.7 miles (1.1 km) to the east, as well as Colburn, 1.9 miles (3.1 km) to the east.

Transport

The Garrison is without a railway station, Catterick Camp railway station served as a terminus station on the Eryholme-Richmond branch line until its closure in 1964, the closest mainline railway stations are now found at Northallerton and Darlington, both are equidistant, at 15.9 miles (25.6 km) south-east and north-east respectively. Regular bus services to Richmond and Darlington are operated by Arriva North East, the closest airport is Durham Tees Valley Airport, 21.3 miles (34.3 km) north-east.

Community and culture

Lacking a true "town centre," the Garrison gained its first large supermarket, a Tesco store, in 2000; along with a retail park known as "Richmondshire Walk", which also includes a McDonald's, a Poundstretcher and a Peacocks, among others. "Catterick Leisure Centre" is a purpose built complex opposite the retail park, opened in July 2009, it offers a broad spectrum of leisure and fitness facilities including a swimming pool, and a gym, as well as an adjoining public library. Catterick Garrison was once home to one Yorkshire's largest cinemas, the "Ritz Cinema" was opened on 21 December 1940 and had over 1000 seats, it was closed on 2 July 1977 after declining usage, today, the site is used as a health and beauty salon. Duchess of Kent Hospital is the local military hospital and medical centre that was opened on 6 October 1976. It was a replacement to the old hospital that was in existence before the Second World War. Foxglove Covert, a local nature reserve was the first of its kind in North Yorkshire and the first to be located on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land in the UK. It covers 100 acres of moorland edge, and was opened in 1992, in 2001 it was declared a "Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance (SLNCI)". In 2013 a £25 million development scheme for a new "town centre" was unveiled, to be built on a former sports ground, owned by the MoD. The plan includes space for retail outlets, a cinema, a 60-bedroom hotel and several dining establishments and bars, it is expected to create up to 700 jobs.

Education

Primary education is provided by Carnagill Community Primary School, built in 1966, Wavell School and Le Cateau Community Primary School. There are other nearby schools, not within the garrison area itself such as Colburn Community Primary School and Hipswell Church of England Primary School that are also used by residents. Pupils then receive secondary education at Risedale Sports and Community College. Alternatively, children may also attend school at Richmond School and Sixth Form College. Darlington College also has a campus at Catterick Garrison.

Religion

The three garrison churches are dedicated to St. Joan of Arc, St Aidan, and the Garrison Memorial Church of St Martin and St Oswald.

Garrison Cemetery

Catterick Garrison Cemetery, located on the north side of St John's Churchyard in Hipswell, was opened by the War Office in 1930 to serve the camp. Among its graves are 42 Commonwealth service personnel of the Second World War and some Polish servicemen.

Previously soldiers from the camp and military hospital were buried in St John's Churchyard, which now contains the war graves of 64 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 2 of the Second World War.

Ministry of Defence operations

The garrison consists of many different groups of buildings spread over a wide area and includes a number of barracks, most of which are named after historical British Army battles, many of which took place in Northern France during the First World War. They include:

Army 2020 Basing

Under Army 2020, the list will be modified and the units based at Catterick will be:

HQ School of Infantry, Infantry Training Centre

Catterick is the largest of three Infantry Training Centres (ITCs) in the UK. ITC Catterick conducts infantry training combining Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Combat Infantryman's Course. Junior soldiers destined for the infantry continue to receive Phase 1 training at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate. ITC Catterick is the major user of the Warcop Training Area.