Uncovering the secrets of the abandoned barracks in the heart of Brighton
| Recently some of our Urban Exploration team visited the abandoned Preston Barracks, an old cavalry base and later a Territorial Army training centre in the centre of Brighton. When the barracks became disused and the majority of the base was demolished in the early 1990s to make way for a supermarket, it was occupied by a number of anti-fascist, anti-establishment and probably anti-bathing squatters. There are two remaining buildings in the complex, the first and smaller of which seems not to have been lived in and only shows signs of other intrepid explorers such as ourselves. We found a number of changing rooms and showers, social spaces complete with bars and kitchens as well a large sports hall. This building looks like it could perhaps have been part of the living quarters for the cavalry who were stationed here when the base was used by the army, and then converted into a recreational building for the TA. The majority of the damage that the building has sustained (aside from the odd broken window) seems to have been done by time. The paint from the walls and ceiling refuses to adhere and footing is made difficult by the sheer amount of broken glass as well as the dead pigeons who had made this building their home. |    |
The larger of the two buildings is far worse for wear and as far as we can tell, has been a fairly active graffiti spot since the squatters were evicted in around 2003. The main entrance is covered in your run-of-the-mill Brighton tags (as well as some larger pieces from more prolific writers like Spyer), but as you go further into the building, the casual throwups seem to die down and make way for the anti-police sentiments and private jokes left by the squatters themselves. There seem to have been a few different groups of people occupying the building at any given time judging from the graffiti we found in the upper rooms. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of evidence of some hectic heroin use as we came across a tonne of hypodermic needles, sterile spoons and needle bins.
| Some of the most interesting things we came across we came across were the Claim Forms for Possession of Property from when the squatters had evidently tried to claim the building as their own, (which state the date of their court hearing as 13/06/03). The forms come complete with the statement from the estate manager through Brighton & Hove Council about the occupiers themselves. |  |
He claimed that there were initially 2 individuals occupying the building who became aggressive to the representatives from the council, and when they returned to try and remove the occupiers a final time, there were up to 20 individuals living at the site who we imagine were either moved on by the council, or left of their own accord.
The site has been incredibly preserved since the squatters were evicted over a decade ago considering the central location of the barracks within Brighton, but sadly plans for the redevelopment of the site are already in motion. There is surprisingly little written history about the site, and none about its most recent occupants and it would be a shame if their story went undocumented. So here’s to Joe Dog, Badgercore, Kolectio Barra Lliure and the ‘Psycotick Punk’ that was behind the door. We hope you guys are doing alright!
The site has been incredibly preserved since the squatters were evicted over a decade ago considering the central location of the barracks within Brighton, but sadly plans for the redevelopment of the site are already in motion. There is surprisingly little written history about the site, and none about its most recent occupants and it would be a shame if their story went undocumented. So here’s to Joe Dog, Badgercore, Kolectio Barra Lliure and the ‘Psycotick Punk’ that was behind the door. We hope you guys are doing alright!
The EVILTWIN UrbEx Team
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