St Mary's Street drill hall, Huntingdon

The St Mary's Street drill hall is a former military installation in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

St Mary's drill hall
Huntingdon
St Mary's drill hall
Site information
Type	Drill hall
Location
St Mary's drill hall Location within Cambridgeshire
Coordinates	52.32805°N 0.18255°W / 52.32805; -0.18255
Site history
Built	Late 19th century
Built for	War Office
In use	Late 19th century-1920s

History

The building was designed as the headquarters of the 1st Huntingdonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps and completed in the late 19th century.^[1] The unit evolved to become the 4th Volunteer Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment in 1900.^[2] The presence at the drill hall was reduced to a single company, H Company, 5th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment in 1908 but restored to a full battalion when the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was formed in February 1914.^[2] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 but remained in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War.^[3] The battalion was disbanded at the end of the War and the drill hall was subsequently decommissioned and converted for retail use.^[4]