Located on Colinton Road in Edinburgh, Redford Barracks represent the largest military installation built in Scotland since Fort George (Highland; 1748). Built by local contractors for the War Office between 1909 and 1915, the barracks comprise separate massive Infantry and Cavalry barracks, providing military accommodation, together with offices and training facilities. Facing Colinton Road is the Cavalry Barracks, with its large clock-tower in the centre. The high ceilings and airy rooms of the barracks have led some to suggest that it was designed for warm climate of India and built in Scotland by mistake! The equally grand Infantry Barracks was intended to accommodate an entire regiment of 1000 men. The new barracks was in part used to accommodate German prisoners during World War I.
Since 1923, Redford has provided the base for the garrison of Edinburgh Castle. Performers in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo are traditionally accommodated here.
Founded in 1910 as the Army School of Piping, the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming has its base in Inchdrewer House in the grounds of the Barracks. In front of the School is memorial to pipers killed on active service, comprising an 2.5m/8-foot bronze statue mounted on a red-sandstone rubble cairn, which was unveiled in 2013. The Army Cadet Force Pipes and Drums Centre is also located here and in 2012 became one of only five Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Approved Centres worldwide to deliver and assess the piping and drumming qualifications.
