St Mary's Street drill hall, Huntingdon

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]