Fort Townshend National Historic Site of Canada

Fort Townshend was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1951 for the following reason:

• from 1779 until 1871, it was the headquarters of the Newfoundland garrison.

Originally built to protect one of the British Empire’s key fishing colonies from potential threats from the French, Fort Townshend reflected Britain’s commitment to the development of a residential fishery. The fort, a star-type fortification, occupied the centre of a system of defences, which in 1776 consisted of redoubts and batteries extending around the harbours of St. John’s, Quidi Vidi, and Torbay. Due to the outbreak of war with France, Fort Townshend was enlarged and strengthened in 1796, as part of changes made to the entire defence 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 Fort was again refortified although no conflicts took place there.

The garrison was withdrawn from St. John’s in 1871, from which date the fort was allowed to decay. Some storage cellars with a small building, which was used as a guardroom, still remain. While 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.