Description of Historic Place

CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 is situated on a sloping site on Hospital Road, the main road through the Dockyard at Esquimalt. It is a rectangular, two-storey, brick building with a gable roof and prominent brick chimneys. The main elevation is a high, flat plane with a regular and symmetrical arrangement of windows. The main entrance is on the south side. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26, the former Royal Navy Prison is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 is an example of a detention barracks or short-term incarceration facility for the Dockyard. Built under the Royal Navy’s 1895-1904 building program, it is directly associated with Dockyard security and illustrates the increased level of activity within the Pacific Station. Prisons were among the essential facilities found at all major Royal Navy yards and Station headquarters. It continued to serve a number of security-related purposes until 1945.

Architectural Value:
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 is a very good example of Royal Navy brick architecture from the 1895-1904 Dockyard rebuilding program. It is distinctive and well-designed, reflecting its original function. It exhibits good functional design and superior craftsmanship as evidenced in the high quality brick and stonework.

Environmental Value:
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 is a significant feature in the Hospital Road streetscape, and the urban environment of the Dockyard. Most of the historic open exercise yard has been roofed over but despite this change the building reinforces the present character of the dockyard and is also familiar to those visiting the neighbourhood.

Sources:
Ian Doull, Dockyard, CFB Esquimalt (82 Buildings), Esquimalt, British Columbia. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Report 89-202; Building D26 (the former Royal Navy Prison), Esquimalt Dockyard, Esquimalt, British Columbia Heritage Character Statement 89-202.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 should be respected.

Its functional design and good quality materials and craftsmanship, for example:
-the irregular massing of the rectangular, two-storey, gable-roofed structure with prominent buttressed brick chimneys, and the cupola with louvers;
-the red brick exterior walls, stone mouldings, circular windows and brick corbels and arches;
-the corbelled friezes, which trace the roofline, and the extensive use of rubbed brick at the building’s corners, and in the arched windows;
-the symmetrical windows with bars that are smaller on the second floor.

The manner in which the CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 reinforces the present character of the dockyard at Esquimalt as evidenced by:
-its historic relationship with the other elements of the Hospital Road streetscape and with the urban environment of the Dockyard;
-its relationship with the adjacent landscaped area that extends to the shoreline.