The Royal House of the Maestranza (predecessor of the current Saint Ferdinand barracks) was built by Íñigo Melchor Fernández de Velasco, Constable of Castile and León and Captain General of Galicia between 1665 and 1668.

It was a one-storey building with four wings and a large central courtyard, whose initial function was to house soldiers in transit during the war with Portugal (1640–1668).

The procedures for the reconstruction of the barracks began with the order of the Intendant Francisco Salvador de Pineda, to accommodate a cavalry squadron of the Montesa Regiment in the city.

[7] The Minister of War, the Duke of Montemar, ordered the military engineer Antonio Flobert to draw up the plans for the new building (preserved in the General Archive of Simancas in the province of Valladolid).

The building was designed by the military engineer Bonifacio Menéndez Conde,[11] who kept a similar structure to the previous barracks, although the height was increased and the perimeter was enlarged.

[14] On 1 July 1905, the Ministry of War published in the Madrid Gazette the call for a public auction for the demolition, levelling of the land and construction of the new Saint Ferdinand barracks in Pontevedra, which was scheduled for 10 August.

[18] In October 1908, the engineer Bonifacio Menéndez-Conde Riego was commissioned to inspect the construction work,[19] and in November it was supervised on site by Menéndez Conde and his superior Félix Casuso Solano.

[23] In September the water supply project was approved,[24] the installation of which was inspected by Daniel de la Sota,[25] and in October 1909 the budget was allocated for this purpose.

[4] The definitive abandonment of the barracks by the members of the armed forces took place on 15 December 1992[28] in a military protocol ceremony held in the inner courtyard of the building, in the presence of all the local authorities.

After the 1995 remodelling, the courtyard has been transformed into a cloister and garden with poplars, tamarinds and low vegetation, preserving its character as a central space.

[35] A new floor was also created under the roof of the existing building to house the library, a documentation and information centre and other workshops, all with overhead lighting.