Home / Accueil

Commissariat Stores / Reverse Fire Chamber West

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1997/03/20

General view of the Commissariat Stores / Reverse Fire Chamber West, showing the simple, plain geometric massing of the solidly built ashlar faced rectangular building, 1996.; Parks Canada | Parcs Canada, Graham, 1996.
General view
No Image
No Image

Other Name(s)

Commissariat Stores / Reverse Fire Chamber West
Advanced Battery
Batterie avancée

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1841/01/01 to 1843/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2006/01/23

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Commissariat Stores / Reverse Fire Chamber West, also known as Advanced Battery, is a specialized defensive military structure integral to the Fort Henry Defence Complex, located within Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada, Ontario. It consists of a 91.4 meter (300 foot) long stone building with a simple elongated rectangular plan, and horizontal massing. Its low side walls feature musketry loopholes and a long moderately pitched hipped roof clad in sheet metal shingles and pierced at intervals by squat masonry chimney stacks. The solidly built interior spaces demonstrate a simple geometry with plain surfaces. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber West is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
The Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber West is a very good example of a structure thematically associated with the defence of Canada from the threat of the United States from the War of 1812 to 1870, and the development of the Canadian military from 1871 to 1891. The School of Gunnery made use of both the Redoubt and Advanced Battery during their training. The Commissariat is a fort component designed for the musketry defence of the exposed ground to the West, bombproof storage of commissariat stores and close quarter protection of the advanced ditch. Its construction, the subsequent economic benefits and the resulting influx of personnel had a significant impact on Kingston.

Architectural Value
The Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber West is a very good example of a functional 19th century military defense design and the standard construction technology used at the time by the Royal Engineers. Its specialized features, construction techniques and use of materials express its very good functional design. It also exhibits very good quality materials and craftsmanship.

Environmental Value
As an integral component of both the Fort Henry Defence Complex and the line of Martello towers along the Kingston waterfront, the Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber West has retained its character. It reinforces the coastal defence and military setting of Fort Henry and is a symbol of the region for both the townsfolk and visitors to Kingston.

Sources: Fern Graham, Fort Henry, Kingston Ontario. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Report 96-051; Fort Henry, Old Fort Henry, Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber West, Advanced Battery, Kingston, Ontario.Heritage, Character Statement 96-051.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber West should be respected.

The very good aesthetic and functional military defense design, and very good quality materials and craftsmanship as evidenced in:
- the simple, plain geometric massing of the solidly built ashlar faced rectangular building;
- the long moderately pitched hipped roof pierced at intervals by squat masonry chimney stacks;
- the long limestone ashlar shot-proof wallcut exterior stone wall with regular pattern loopholes, topped by heavy cantilever brackets;
- the depressed three-centred arched defensive gateway;
- the matching bay treatment of the casemates, consisting of a central door flanked by windows within a sunken panel with their brick-vaulted bombproof roof;
- the internal spaces, in particular the casemates with their squared uncoursed rubble masonry walls and ceilings of segmental brick vaulting;
- the subterranean stone cross-vaulted musketry chamber;
- viewscapes from the interior parade ground.

The manner in which the Commissariat Store/ Reverse Fire Chamber West reinforces the military character of Fort Henry.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Treasury Board Heritage Buildings Policy

Recognition Type

Classified Federal Heritage Building

Recognition Date

1997/03/20

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Defence
Military Defence Installation

Architect / Designer

Lieutenant-Colonel John Oldfield

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Heritage Conservation and Commemoration Directorate, Documentation Centre, 3rd Floor, Room 366, 30 Victoria St, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

7853

Status

Published

Related Places

Side View

Curtain Wall and Demi-Bastions

The reconstructed Curtain Wall and Demi-Bastions constitute a specialized defensive military structure integral to Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada. The prominent and…

General view

Commissariat Stores / Reverse Fire Chamber East

Commissariat Stores/ Reverse Fire Chamber East, also known as Forward Battery, is a specialized defensive military structure integral to the Fort Henry Defence Complex, located…

General view of Branch Tower East.

Branch Tower East

Standing sentinel on the banks of Lake Ontario, Branch Tower East is a specialized defensive structure integral to Fort Henry. It consists of a massive, 14-metre-high circular…

General view

Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada

Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada is a 19th-century British military fortress situated on Point Henry between the mouth of Kingston harbour and a second natural harbour…

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places