Fort Townshend is an archaeological site in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador that was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 1951. The original military fort was built, as the headquarters of the British garrison, between 1775-1779, to secure St John's from attacks, from the French, as well as from American privateers, and it was abandoned in 1871. The great star-shaped

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. I ...

was one of the largest British fortifications in North America at the time.

The Rooms The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Muse ...

which houses the Art Gallery, the Provincial Archives and the Provincial Museum, of Newfoundland and Labrador now stands on this site. During the planning and construction of the building much opposition was raised by archaeologists and historians.

History

Because of the vulnerability of Fort William to artillery fire from Signal Hill, Fort Townshend was built between 1775-1779 to secure St John's from attacks, from the French, as well as from American privateers. The vulnerability of Fort William had been revealed when the French captured it in 1762, The

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

had increased the need to improve St. John's defences. By 1779 Colonel Robert Pringle of the Royal Engineers, and Commandant of the garrison, had completed the construction of Fort Townshend, which Governor Lord Shuldham had begun in 1773. A road (Military Road) had also been built, linking it with Fort William. Fort Townshend then became the headquarters of the Newfoundland garrison. Fort Townshend was enlarged and strengthened in 1796, because of a war with France, "as part of changes made to the entire defense system". "In the same year, a French fleet under the command of Admiral Richery appeared off the Narrows, but was deterred by the formidable appearance of the defences, and the fleet withdrew. With the impending threat from America as a result of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, the Fort was again refortified although no conflicts took place there". After garrison was withdrawn 1871 the fort had been allowed to decay, and the site became the home of the

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial police forces in Canada, alongside the Ontario Provincial ...

and, later, the St. John's Fire Department. However, though there are "few accessible remains of the fort, some may still be found in situ in the basement of The Rooms, which was built upon the original site" of the fort.Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes. The Fort Townshend archaeological site was designated a

in 1951.

References

{{Coord, 47.566, -52.711, display=title Military history of Newfoundland Military forts in Newfoundland and Labrador History of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Installations of the British Army Foreign military bases in Canada