The first building structures of Tanglin Barracks were erected in 1861 to serve as housing for European soldiers of the British Army. Situated in what was initially a nutmeg plantation, the barracks remained unoccupied until 1867 when they became home to the 80th Foot Staffordshire Volunteers. During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1915, the barracks were briefly under the control of the Sepoy mutineers before the insurrection was put down. They continued to be used as infantry barracks by the British until the fall of Singapore to Japanese forces in 1942. Following the end of the war, the barracks became home to the General Headquarters of the Far East Land Forces until the British troop withdrawal in 1971. Between 1972 and 1989, the barracks continued to serve various military functions, notably as home to the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence and the Central Manpower Base. Since the 1990s, the area has undergone several redevelopment phases and is now a bohemian retail and residential cluster known as Tanglin Village.
