The Royal Engineers in Halifax

Piers note: No. 112. Royal Engineers' Yard and Workshops, opposite to Hospital gate, Cogswell Street, Halifax; with Royal Engineers Artificers, military and civil, grouped at work; 1873. Looking West-southwest from Northeast corner of Yard. All of the buildings must have been built in or after 1798, when the land was acquired from George Bayer. To right is old ironstone building, trimmed with sandstone, which was probably once the coach-house and harness-room of Duke of Kent, as this Yard no doubt at first contained his stables; well in centre of square. Outside the gate is seen long wooden building then used by the "Garrison Instructor", but which formerly had been the Garrison Library, and which was no doubt originally built for an office (Headquarters Office) of Duke of Kent. (Compare Akins, History of Halifax, p.213). The buildings in this Yard had apparently been the Stables of the Duke of Kent; and in 1858 were used for Barrack Master's Stores (before old Pavilion Officers Quarters were taken for that purpose. The group of men consists of 23: 1 officer, 1 sergeant, 1 corporal, about 13 military artificers and about 7 civil artificers; there being (left to right), sheet-metal workers, smiths, riggers, wheelwrights, painters, and glaziers, and carpenters.

Reference: Royal Engineers Nova Scotia Archives number 6961 (Piers 112) / negative N-2471