Description of Historic Place
The Former Hampton Gray Memorial School (Building 14) is a one-storey building with several two-storey annexes. The sprawling school, located in the central part of the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shearwater base, has a projecting flat roof and is clad in red brick. Regularly placed, full size classroom windows create a visual line and allow each classroom a great deal of natural light. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Value
The Former Hampton Gray Memorial School (Building 14) is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values:
Historical value :
The Former Hampton Gray Memorial School (Building 14) is associated with the significant build up of the military forces during the Cold War period and the establishment of a permanent, peace-time military force. This period saw a tremendous expansion of military bases across the country when, for the first time, large numbers of military personnel and their families were housed together in largely self-contained communities. The Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation is also associated with this period and provided supervision in the development at CFB Shearwater. The school demonstrates the CFB Shearwater expansion after the base was recommissioned in 1948 during the Cold War period. Every phase of the building’s expansion during the 1950s mirrors the expansion of the base during this period.
Architectural value :
The Former Hampton Gray Memorial School (Building 14) is a good example of the modern style used by the military for support structures during the Cold War period. The building’s asymmetrical plan, horizontality as emphasized by its linear pattern of brickwork, its large, proportional windows and its flat roof together support its style. A standard layout was readily expandable and the school demonstrates good quality craftsmanship and materials as evidenced through the simple lines of the cornice-line and the horizontal bands in the brick. The Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation designed the simple plan.
Environmental value :
Built as a support building along with the post office, chapel, PMQs, the base hospital and recreation buildings, the Former Hampton Gray Memorial School (Building 14) is compatible within its large multi-use, park-like area of the base. Successive construction phases have changed the site over time. For those who lived at the base and attend the school, it would have meaning and continues to be known to the contemporary community since the building continues to function and is used as a day care.
Sources:
Margaret Carter, Former Hampton Gray Memorial School, Building 14 (SH-14), 12 Wing, CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Building Report 89-008.
Former Hampton Gray Memorial School, CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia. Heritage Character Statement 02-065.
Character-Defining Elements
The following character-defining elements of the Former Hampton Gray Memorial School (Building 14) should be respected, for example:
The building’s role as an illustration of the significant build-up of the military forces during the Cold War period and the establishment of a permanent, peace-time military force:
-Its central location in its multi-use setting.
-Its modern style used by the military for support structures during the Cold War period as manifested in:
-The modular, functional design;
-Its horizontality emphasized by its long, low mass, its flat, overhanging roof and cornice –line and the linear pattern of the brick work;
-Its simple, functional floor plan;
-The large and numerous windows which bring in good amounts of light.
The manner in which it reinforces the multi-use, park-like character of the setting as evidenced in:
-Its modest scale and distinctive appearance;
-Its central location and community function.
