Former Royal Navy shore base on Queensway, Gibraltar, demolished complex.
HMS Rooke was a Royal Navy shore establishment of the British Armed Forces in Gibraltar. Located on Queensway near King’s Bastion, it replaced HMS Cormorant and became a Joint Service Base. Closed and paid off in 1996, it later housed Gibraltar Defence Police headquarters before the entire complex was demolished.
HMS Rooke was a shore establishment of the British Armed Forces in Gibraltar. Described as a stone frigate, it operated in Gibraltar from 1946 to 1990. The base stood on Queensway, near King’s Bastion, within the British Overseas Territory. It replaced the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron’s HMS Cormorant and subsequently became a Joint Service Base for British Armed Forces units. The Royal Navy closed HMS Rooke and paid it off in 1996. After naval use ended, the site served as the headquarters of the Gibraltar Defence Police until their move to HM Naval Base in 2016. The base was named in honour of Admiral George Rooke, who led the Anglo‑Dutch Capture of Gibraltar in 1704. The Gibraltar Squadron’s headquarters is now located further south at the Permanent Joint Operating Base Gibraltar. The entire HMS Rooke complex has since been demolished. The installation is associated with the military history of Gibraltar and is listed among Royal Navy bases outside the United Kingdom, as well as military installations established in 1946 and closed in 1996. HMS Rooke’s history reflects changing defence needs and the evolution of British forces’ presence in Gibraltar.
