CNHS Prince of Wales Tower - Halifax, NS
N 44° 37.294 W 063° 34.185
20T E 454800 N 4941070
The Prince of Wales Tower was built in 1796-7. It is located in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Waymark Code: WMGBV6
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 02/11/2013
Views: 8
From a sign "Why a Round Tower" on the site:
"Prince of Wales Tower was the first of almost 200 towers, including five in the Halifax area, built around the British Empire for coastal defence. These structures apparently found their inspiration from a small stone tower at Mortella Point on the Corsican coast which had effectively resisted a joint British naval and land attack for several days in 1794. Though not a prototype for later British towers, which were often built with different features according to their settings, the Prince of Wales Tower did have a long life as an element in the overall Halifax Defence Complex."
From a sign "Why is it here?" on the site:
"British army engineers built Prince of Wales Tower to assist in the defence of Point Pleasant. The Tower's main purpose was to protect the landward approaches to the gun batteries located along the shores of what is now Point Pleasant Park. These batteries, in turn, defended seaward approaches into Halifax harbour and the entrance to the Northwest Arm.
1794 Prince Edward, fourth son of King George III, appointed military commander of Halifax.
1796 Edward approves the construction of a tower to defend Point Pleasant.
1797 Tower construction begins.
1798 Edward names the tower after his older brother, George, the Prince of Wales.
1802 Four 6-pounder guns on barracks level. Two 24-pounder guns and four 68-pounder carronades on top platform.
1808-1810 68-pounder carronades progressively removed and replaced by 24-pounder carronades.
1813 Four 6-pounder guns on garrison carriages on barracks level. Two 24-pounder guns on traversing platforms and six 24-pounder carronades on traversing slides on top.
Classification: National Historic Site
Province or Territory: Nova Scotia
Location - City name/Town name: Halifax
Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link]
Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: [Web Link]
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