Council bosses are lobbying the Ministry of Defence for £2m to save an historic Army drill hall that was once a castle. Castle Armoury in Bury town centre - also known as the drill hall - was built on the remains of the former Bury Castle in 1868 and is Grade-II-listed.
As reported in the Manchester Evening News , the armoury was designed as the headquarters of the 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps. Soldiers formed up there before being sent to the Western Front during the First World War, many never to return.
Today it is home to W Company 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 207 Field Hospital Royal Army Medical Corp and The Lancashire Royal Regiment of Fusiliers volunteer band, as well as a base for Army and RAF cadets and community groups.
