One World - Protecting the most significant buildings, monuments and features of Maltese islands (23)

The British Services Officer's Mess was built in 1893 and is located in Sir Arthur Freemantle Street, Mtarfa. It is a late neo-classical style palatial building of the late Victorian era, three storeys high and with numerous arched verandahs both externally and surrounding the large central courtyard.

The façade has a highly ornate central bay with an arched portico at ground floor and a terrace at the first floor, a balustraded balcony at second floor and ends with a frontispiece. The first and second floors are receded.

The verandah is supported by five columned arches at each side and a tower at each end; all ornamented with coat of arms and grooved joints. Most frontal panels are supported by pilasters in the composite order.

The east side is rather plain and the west side consists of two floors of arched verandahs and a receded second floor. The rear is very irregularly formed, yet balanced and has a service or vehicular entrance set-back at the rear.

The courtyard consists of three tiers of arched verandahs all around, with those of the first floor being more of a neo-Norman order.

Mepa scheduled the Officers' Mess in Mtarfa as a Grade 1 national monument as per Government Notice no. 628/08 in the Government Gazette dated July 12, 2008.