Fort Amherst, St. John's

Fort Amherst
Neighbourhood
Fort Amherst from Signal Hill
Country  Canada
Province  Newfoundland and Labrador
City St. John's
Ward 2
Government
 • Administrative body St. John's City Council
 • Councilor

Frank Galgay

Official name Fort Amherst National Historic Site of Canada
Designated 1951
Fort Amherst Lighthouse
Fort Amherst Lighthouse
Newfoundland
Location Fort Amherst
St. John's
Newfoundland
Canada
Coordinates 47°33′48.68″N 52°40′49.52″W / 47.5635222°N 52.6804222°W / 47.5635222; -52.6804222
Year first constructed 1813 (first)
1852 (second)
Year first lit 1951 (current)
Construction stone tower (first)
wooden tower (current)
Tower shape square frustun tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern white tower, red lantern roof
Height 8 metres (26 ft)
Focal height 40 metres (130 ft)
Range 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 15s.
Admiralty number H0458
CHS number CCG 506
NGA number 1848
ARLHS number CAN-683
Managing agent Fort Amherst Museum and Tea Room [1][2]
Heritage National Historic Sites of Canada Edit this on Wikidata

Fort Amherst is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at 47°33′48.96″N 52°40′49.60″W / 47.5636000°N 52.6804444°W / 47.5636000; -52.6804444Coordinates: 47°33′48.96″N 52°40′49.60″W / 47.5636000°N 52.6804444°W / 47.5636000; -52.6804444, on the southern side of the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's harbour. Apart from some family dwellings, Fort Amherst consists of a man-made harbour,[3] a lighthouse[4] and the remains of gun emplacements and pillboxes built during World War II to defend against German U-boats. Two QF 4.7-inch B Mark IV* guns remain in place, and can still be seen on their mountings.[5]

The original fortifications at Fort Amherst, built in the 1770s, are no longer visible.[5] The fortifications were named for William Amherst,[6] who successfully recaptured St. John's from French forces in 1762.[7] The fort operated in conjunction with Fort Waldegrave for much of its history. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1951.[8]

The name is shared with Port La-Joye / Fort Amherst in Prince Edward Island and Fort Amherst in England.

The first lighthouse in Newfoundland was built at Fort Amherst in 1810.[9] The current lighthouse was built in 1951.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Southeastern Newfoundland The Lighthouse DirectoryUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 10 February 2017
  2. ↑ List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2016.
  3. ↑ "Fort Amherst small boat harbor". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  4. 1 2 "Fort Amherst lighthouse". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  5. 1 2 "Fort Amherst history". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  6. ↑ "The Grand Concourse: Plans Presented for Fort Amherst". Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  7. ↑ "The Recapture of St. John's, Newfoundland in 1762". Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  8. ↑ Fort Amherst. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Historic sites around St.Johns". Retrieved 2007-08-27.


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