Description of Historic Place
The Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 is part of a group of military school structures at the Collège Militaire Royal. The one-storey, rectangular structure has solid brick walls with stone details, including the base, window surrounds, corner quoins and the entrance portico. The steeply pitched hipped roof features a prominent central masonry chimney, which adds to the strong presence of the building. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Value
The Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 is a recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.
Historical Value
The Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 is associated with the theme of the establishment of a permanent Canadian military force as a result of the Militia Act of 1883. Formerly a guardhouse, it was constructed to help meet the needs of the new Infantry Corps School located at Fort St. Jean. In 1952 the building became part of the Collège Militaire Royal, the first bilingual college in Canada. The artifacts contained in the Museum relate to Fort St. Jean and the military complex’s early garrison days.
Architectural Value
The Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 is valued for its good aesthetic design, which exhibits numerous design features that reveal the influence of guardhouses built by the British Royal Engineers in Canada during the first half of the 19th century. Also of good functional design, the thick masonry walls divide the interior space into three moderately sized rooms, a lavatory, and four jail cells with windows to allow for natural light. The base, window surrounds, corners and portico of the building are defined by good-quality stone masonry, which creates a contrast with the brick walls.
Environmental Value
The Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 is compatible with the present character of its military school setting at Collège Militaire Royal. The building is well-known to those who live and work in or frequent the complex.
Sources: Joanna H. Doherty, Museum Building (#26) and Administration Building (#24), Collège Militaire Royal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, Federal Heritage Building Review Office, Building Report, 88-175; Museum Building (#26), Collège Militaire Royal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 88-175.
Character-Defining Elements
The following character-defining elements of the Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 should be respected.
Its aesthetic design, good functional design and fine quality materials and craftsmanship, for example:
- the one-storey, rectangular massing with a steeply pitched roof and prominent central masonry chimney;
- the arrangement of door and window openings, which reflect the interior’s functional layout;
- the interior layout with thick masonry walls that divide the space into three moderately sized rooms, a lavatory, and four jail cells each containing a window;
- the brick walls and the stone masonry, including the base, window surrounds, corner quoins and entrance portico.
The manner in which the Museum, Former Guard House, Building 26 is compatible with the present character of its military school setting and is a well-known building, as evidenced by:
-its overall scale, rectangular massing, design and materials, which complement the other buildings within the earthen ramparts of old Fort St. Jean;
-its visual and physical relationship to the adjacent west wall;
-its familiarity to staff, students and visitors, given its role as museum.
