1970s - Cecily Hill Barracks and Cirencester Band

Cecily Hill Barracks, known locally as “The Castle”, has a long association with Cirencester Band.

During the Second World War, the Barracks served as headquarters for the Cirencester Home Guard, placing it at the centre of the town’s wartime military and civic activity.

Band musicians assembled outside the castle gates and used the site as a staging point for parades, marching alongside troops, RAF personnel and home-defence units into the Market Place for wartime rallies and morale-boosting events.

As the Barracks were under military and Home Guard control at the time, the Band’s involvement formed part of the wider community activity taking place within that official setting.

After the war, ownership eventually returned to the Bathurst Estate, but Cirencester Band’s connection with Cecily Hill continued.

From 1970 until 1979, the Band formally rented the Barracks as its dedicated bandroom, making “The Castle” an important home in the Band’s history.