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Catterick Garrison

Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town 3 miles (5 km) south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017[1] and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10 km2). Under plans announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in November 2005, its population is expected to grow to over 25,000, making it the largest population centre in the local area.[2][3]

History[edit]

At the beginning of August 1907 Robert Baden-Powell, Inspector-General of Cavalry, held his experimental camp for boys on Brownsea Island. In October 1907, he was appointed to command the Northumbrian Division of the newly formed Territorial Army. His headquarters were in Richmond Castle,[4] which was too small to hold the garrison, so he chose as a replacement the site for the Catterick military town.[5] The following year saw the founding of the Scouting movement.[6][7]


On 12 August 1914, the order was issued for the construction of the camp, following the outbreak of the First World War. The original intention was for Catterick to be a temporary camp to accommodate two complete divisions with around 40,000 men in 2,000 huts.[8]


The base was originally named Richmond Camp but was changed to Catterick Camp in 1915, and later modified to Catterick Garrison in 1973. After serving as a prisoner of war camp at the end of the first world war, the idea to make Catterick a permanent military barracks was first suggested after the partitioning of Ireland in 1921, to replace The Curragh. The required land was purchased and building plans were put forward in 1923. Construction was undertaken by John Laing & Son,[9] 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.[10]


RAF Catterick closed in 1994 and was transferred to the British Army to become Marne Barracks which falls under the command of Catterick Garrison.[11]


In 2018, to celebrate the centenary of the Armistice and the end of the First World War, four stone monuments, including a steam locomotive and a likeness of Lord Baden Powell, were erected on the town's central roundabout.[12]

Governance[edit]

Between 1974 and 2023 it was 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.[13]


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.[14]


Catterick Garrison is also within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which has been represented since 2015 by Conservative Rishi Sunak.[15]

Geography[edit]

Catterick Garrison is located on the A6136 road, connecting Richmond with the A1(M) at Catterick Village, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) to the east. Nearby are 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.[16]


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).[17]

Economy[edit]

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.[18] 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 included space for retail outlets, a cinema, a 60-bedroom hotel and several dining establishments and bars; creating up to 700 jobs.[19] In 2015, the plans came to fruition when Princes Gate retail complex opened adjacent to Richmondshire Walk, with tenants including a Premier Inn, an Empire cinema, Poundland, Next, and Hungry Horse.[20]

Transport[edit]

There is no longer a railway station at the garrison. Catterick Camp railway station was a terminus station on the Eryholme-Richmond branch line until its closure in 1964; the closest mainline railway stations are now at Northallerton and Darlington; they 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 Teesside International Airport, 21.3 miles (34.3 km) north-east.[21]

Education[edit]

Primary education is provided by Carnagill Community Primary School, built in 1966,[22] Wavell School,[23] Le Cateau Community Primary School[24] and Cambrai Primary School, a free school opened in 2019 on the complex formerly housing a campus of Darlington College.[25] Pupils then receive secondary education at Risedale School.[26] Alternatively, children may also attend school at Richmond School and Sixth Form College.[27]

Community and culture[edit]

Sport[edit]

The town's football club, Catterick Garrison Football Centre, was founded in 2006, and the senior team play in the Wensleydale Creamery League, an affiliate league of the North Riding County Football Association. The Catterick Crusaders rugby league team play in the North East Division of the Rugby League Conference, originally known as the Northallerton Stallions, they adopted their current name after relocation in 2012.[33]

Media[edit]

The town was formerly home to Garrison FM until 2013, when the Ministry of Defence merged Garrison FM's contract with that of overseas forces' station BFBS, who took over local broadcasting for the garrison area. The Catterick Garrison Military WAGS Choir, formed in 2010 was the basis for the BBC programme The Choir: Military Wives and the 2019 film Military Wives (film), which also has scenes filmed in the garrison itself.[34][35]

Leisure facilities[edit]

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.[36][37]


Catterick Garrison once had one of Yorkshire's largest cinemas, the Ritz Cinema, which opened on 21 December 1940 and had over 1000 seats. It closed on 2 July 1977 after declining usage; today, the site is used as a health and beauty salon.[38] The town would gain a seven screen cinema in 2015 as part of the Princes Gate retail complex.[39]

Commander and Staff Trainer (North)

[47]

Yorkshire Regiment

Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own)

1st Close Support Battalion

Royal Corps of Army Music

The Highlanders, 4th Battalion

The Light Dragoons

[60]

5th Regiment

Scots Guards

Adjutant General's Corps

(1972). The Story of Catterick Camp 1915–1972. Headquarters Catterick Garrison.

Cole, Howard N.

Ritchie, Berry (1997). The Good Builder: The John Laing Story. James & James.

Official Community Website – Catterick Garrison Online