Prince of Wales Martello Tower
Prince of Wales Martello Tower (1796-1866) - A British colonial Martello tower established in 1796 by His Royal Highness, Prince Edward, in present day Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Designed by Captain James Straton, Commanding, Royal Engineers. Abandoned in 1866 when the military offered the Point Pleasant site to the city for a park.
Prince of Wales Martello Tower History
Part of the Harbor Defense of Halifax.
One of five Martello Towers built for the defense of Halifax Harbor (Prince of Wales Martello Tower (1796), Duke of York Martello Tower (1798), Duke of Clarence Martello Tower (b1798), Fort Charlotte Martello Tower (1812), Sherbrooke Martello Tower (1814)). The Martello Towers were mainly designed to provide land side protection for water facing batteries.
The Prince of Wales Tower was built of ironstone to be 28' high, with a diameter at the base of 71' and 69' at the top. The walls varied from 6' 3" thick at the top to 8' thick at the base. The tower was two stories high with a roof level that had four Machicolation galleries. At times through the life of the tower the roof level was covered with a conical roof and at other times it was without a roof as it is today.
The first floor of the tower contained the magazine and the water & food supply and had no door to the outside. The entry door was on the second level, accessed by a pull up ladder. The second floor housed the officers and men and four 6-pounder guns. The second level had four fixed gun embrasures for defense of the tower. The roof level mounted two 24 pounder guns and six 24-pounder carronades. The roof battery could provide covering fire for Fort Ogilvie and all the Point Pleasant batteries.
The Prince of Wales Tower was decommissioned in 1866 but served as a powder storage magazine intermittently after that.
Current Status
Part of the Prince of Wales Tower National Historic Site of Canada in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Partially restored tower not normally open to the public but the grounds are open to visitors. Interpretive signage outside the tower but no visitor center or parks personnel available. No visible period guns or carriages. A short walk uphill from the lower parking lot on the harbor side.
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Location: Prince of Wales Tower National Historic Site of Canada in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada Maps & Images Lat: 44.62157 Long: -63.56975 |
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Sources:
- Piers, Harry, The Evolution of the Halifax Fortress 1749-1928, The Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 1947, 155 pages, page 26
Links:
Visited: 22 Jun 2013
Prince of Wales Martello Tower Picture Gallery
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