Description of Historic Place

Merrickville Blockhouse is a two-storey, masonry and timber defensive structure located on the banks of the Rideau Canal in the town of Merrickville Ontario.

Heritage Value

Merrickville Blockhouse was designated a National Historic Site because it was considered a fine example of the best type of blockhouses erected for the defence of the Rideau Canal about 1832.

Its heritage value lies in its illustration of relatively large, 19th-century British designed blockhouse. Built in 1832-33, it is associated with the construction of the Rideau Canal waterway and the defence of Canada.

Source: HSMBC Minutes, May 1939, 1967; Commemorative Integrity Statement.

Character-Defining Elements

- the blocky massing,
- its large size relative to other defensible structures along the canal,
- the tripartite design with a squat lower storey, overhanging upper storey, and steep hipped roof,
- the symmetrical design with central door and regular window openings,
- the functional design as a defensive structure with sparse door and window openings and plentiful gun slits,
- the fire resistant design with thick, vented stone walls on the basement and first storey,
- remaining original fabric in the lower storey,
- evidence of designed self-sufficiency, particularly related to the sub-division of space into provision storage, armament storage and barrack areas,
- vestiges of former defensive ditch around the building,
- the spacial relationship to the Merrickville Lockstation, particularly in the land-use allocation and circulation patterns,
- siting at the Merrickville Lockstation, with an unobstructed view up and down the Rideau waterway and down the Prescott and Brockville Roads.