Navy Hall

Historic site in Ontario, Canada

Navy Hall

Navy Hall's stone walls encase the original wood building

Location| Fort George, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates| 43°15′07″N 79°03′33″W﻿ / ﻿43.252000°N 79.059134°W﻿ / 43.252000; -79.059134
Built| 1765 (original)
1815 (rebuilt/current)
Original use| Naval establishment
Governing body| Parks Canada

National Historic Site of Canada

Navy Hall is a wooden structure encased within a stone structure that was the site of Upper Canada's (Ontario's) first provincial parliament, from 1792 to 1796. It is a unit of Fort George National Historic Site located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, then known as Newark, Upper Canada. It sits on Ricardo Street near the shore of the Niagara River, near Fort George, and across the river from Fort Niagara.

The original Navy Hall was built as naval establishment in 1765 by Royal Naval Commanders. It consisted of a small shipyard, docks, stores and residences, and was a local supply depot, as well as a trans-shipment point for posts on the upper Great Lakes. During the American Revolution, the Provincial Marine wintered at this complex. In 1792, John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, converted one of the buildings into his residence and office.

In 1792, the first parliament in Upper Canada met in a tent near this site. The first session to sit in Navy Hall was on September 17, 1792. The next year, Simcoe decided to move the capital to York, Upper Canada (now Toronto), a site less vulnerable to attack from the United States. While the first purpose-built Parliament Buildings were being constructed there, Newark continued to serve as the seat of government until 1796. After Parliament left, the building was used as a dining hall by officers from nearby Fort George. Destroyed by U.S. artillery fire in the War of 1812, some of the fort's buildings were re-built by the British, and today's Navy Hall is the only one remaining of that reconstruction.

Simcoe Memorial on the grounds of Navy Hall An Ontario historical plaque tells of Upper Canada's first Parliament in Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

Originally a wooden storehouse, it was built shortly after the War of 1812, and became a barracks for British troops in 1838, during the Rebellion of 1837-38. It served as a medical commissary during World War I for Canadian troops at what became Camp Niagara, a site preparing soldiers for overseas service. During the 1930s, it was moved to its present site by the Niagara Parks Commission and encased in stone.

The current building is managed by Parks Canada as part of Fort George, one of several national historic sites in the region which fall under the administrative umbrella 'Niagara National Historic Sites'. Navy Hall is rented for private functions, but generally closed to the public due to staffing shortages. It houses artifacts from its more than 200 years of history. Located across the street from Fort George, it invites visitors to read outdoor interpretive displays, view the Simcoe Memorial monument, and enjoy the tranquility of its parkland views of the Niagara River and Fort Niagara in New York. Parking is available at the site, convenient for visitors or those embarking on a steamboat excursion, which departs from a nearby dock.

## See also

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* Fort Mississauga
* Fort Niagara
* Fort Schlosser

## References

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* Navy Hall - Friends of Fort George
* Navy Hall
* Navy Hall
* Ontario historical plaque - First Provincial Parliament 1792

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Royal Navy shore establishments

Current|

| Naval bases|

* HMNB Clyde
* HMNB Devonport
* HMNB Portsmouth
* HMS Jufair

|

Stone frigates|

* BRNC Dartmouth
* CTCRM Lympstone
* HMS Collingwood
* HMS Drake
* HMS Excellent
* HMS Nelson
* HMS Raleigh
* HMS Sultan
* HMS Temeraire
* Institute of Naval Medicine
* Defence Diving School

Royal Marines bases|

* RM Bickleigh
* RM Chivenor
* RM Condor
* RM Norton Manor
* RM Poole
* RM Stonehouse
* RM Tamar
* RM Instow

Air stations|

* RNAS Culdrose
* Predannack Airfield
* RNAS Merryfield
* RNAS Yeovilton
* HMS Gannet

Royal Naval Reserves|

* HMS Calliope
* HMS Cambria
* HMS Ceres
* HMS Dalriada
* HMS Eaglet
* HMS Ferret
* HMS Flying Fox
* HMS Forward
* HMS Hibernia
* HMS King Alfred
* HMS President
* HMS Scotia
* HMS Sherwood
* HMS Vivid
* HMS Wildfire

Other|

* Navy Command Headquarters
* RNAD Coulport
* British Defence Singapore Support Unit
* UK Joint Logistics Support Base

Former|

| Home|

* HMS Abastor
* HMS Aggressive
* HMS Badger
* HMS Daedalus II
* HM Dockyard Chatham
* HM Dockyard Deptford
* HM Dockyard Erith
* HM Dockyard Harwich
* HM Dockyard Pembroke
* HM Dockyard Portland
* HM Dockyard Rosyth
* HMS Cambridge
* HMS Dryad
* HMS Ferret
* HMS Forest Moor
* HM Fort Roughs
* HMS Forward (1939)
* HMS Flycatcher
* HMS Ganges
* HMS Harrier
* HM Holmrook Hall
* HMS Imperieuse
* HMS Lochinvar
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* HMS King Alfred (1939)
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* HMS Newt
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* RM Turnchapel
* RNAD Broughton Moor
* DM Crombie
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* DM Gosport
* RNAS Prestwick
* RNAY Wroughton
* HM Victualling Yard Royal Clarence
* HM Victualling Yard Royal Victoria
* HM Victualling Yard Royal William
* HM Dockyard Woolwich
* List of air stations of the Royal Navy

|

Overseas|

* Grand River Naval Depot
* HM Naval Yard Penetanguishene
* HM Naval Shipyards York
* HMRND Amherstburg
* HM Dockyard Bermuda
* HM Dockyard Bombay
* HM Dockyard Gibraltar
* HM Dockyard Haulbowline
* HM Dockyard Jamaica
* HM Dockyard Kinsale
* HM Dockyard Madras
* HM Dockyard Port Mahon
* HM Dockyard Port Royal
* HM Dockyard Trincomalee
* HM Naval Base Aden
* HM Naval Base Colombo
* HM Naval Base Cochin
* HM Naval Base Singapore
* HM Naval Base Simon's Town
* HM Naval Base Weihaiwei
* HM Naval Yard Garden Island
* HMRND Esquimalt
* HMRNB Georgetown
* HMRND Kingston
* HM Dockyard Malta
* Auckland
* HMRNB Halifax
* HMS Tamar
* HM Dockyard Antigua
* Navy Hall

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