Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 15

A History of Martello Towers in the Defence of British North America, 1796-1871

by Ivan J. Saunders

Appendix O. Shoal Tower, Kingston

Built: 1846-47
Armed: 1862
Disarmed: date unknown
Demolished: (extant. 1972)
Facing material: limestone ashlar masonry
Diameter: 65 ft.
Height: 35 ft. from the high water line
Wall thickness: 9 ft. to 14 ft.
Parapet height: approximately 6 ft.
Storeys: two
Purpose: to defend Kingston harbour and the approach to the Rideau Canal.

71 Shoal Tower, 1971. (Photograph by author.)

72 Ground plan showing the relationship between the Market House Battery and Shoal Tower, 1870. (Public Archives of Canada.)

73 Plan and section of the wooden coffer-dam erected on the Market Shoal to facilitate the construction of Shoal Tower, 1846. (Public Archives of Canada.)

74 Shoal Tower, section and barrack floor and platform plans, 1867. (Public Archives of Canada.)

75 Shoal Tower, basement floor plan, 1846. (Public Archives of Canada.)

76 Shoal Tower, barrack floor plan, 1846. (Public Archives of Canada.)

77 Shoal Tower, plan and section of the platform showing the intended method of mounting the armament, 1851. (Public Archives of Canada.)