HMCSStone Frigate[a] is a dormitory of theRoyal Military College of Canada inKingston, Ontario. Built to be a naval storehouse, it was converted to its present use in 1876 on the establishment of the college.
TheStone Frigate was originally a storehouse at theKingston Royal Naval Dockyard,Point Frederick Peninsula, inKingston, Ontario. Designed by Archibald Fraser in 1819–24,[1] it was constructed under the command of Captain Robert Barrie to store gear and rigging of the British fleet from theWar of 1812 which had been dismantled and housed in Navy Bay pursuant to theRush–Bagot Treaty of 1817.[2]
Closed in 1835, the dockyard reopened in 1837 in response to rebellions in the Canadas. Captain Williams Sandom[3] and a party of sailors resided in theStone Frigate warehouse close to the St. Lawrence pier in Navy Bay. By the 1860s, only theStone Frigate storehouse and one wharf of the dockyard were kept in repair.[4]
.jpg)
The former warehouse was converted into adormitory and classrooms when theRoyal Military College of Canada was established in 1876,[5][6] on the site of the former dockyard.
In 1941, the Royal Military College of Canada cadets were housed in theStone Frigate while student officers taking Canadian junior war staff courses, field security courses and radio technician's courses were quartered inFort Frederick.[7]
A plaque erected in 1957 describes theStone Frigate as follows:
Once part of a large and active naval dockyard, this substantial stone building was erected as a warehouse for naval stores. Although initially planned in 1816, it was not completed until four years later when the need for storage facilities to hold gear and rigging from British warships dismantled in compliance with the Rush–Bagot Agreement had become acute. After the Rebellion of 1837 the building briefly functioned as a barracks for the naval detachment charged with patrolling the lakes. It was then apparently used as a storehouse again. By 1876 the structure, now known as the Stone Frigate, had been refitted to house the newly established Royal Military College of Canada, an institution it continues to serve.
— [6]
Known within Royal Military College of Canada as "The Boat", theStone Frigate houses 1 Squadron, who in turn call themselves theStone Frigate Military Academy. Renovations to theStone Frigate began in the summer of 2003; some interior refinishing had taken place in the mid-1960s, however the overall interior condition of the building was poor. Interior stone walls were restored and cleaned and new structural supports and interior walls were constructed. Windows, doors, and mechanical and electrical services were installed and an annex extension was built. TheDepartment of National Defence officially re-opened the renovatedStone Frigate building in early April 2004. TheStone Frigate is on theRegistry of Historic Places of Canada.[8]
Pipe Major Donald M. Carrigan composed theStone Frigate Reel in honour of theStone Frigate at the Royal Military College of Canada circa 1983.[9]
44°13′46″N76°28′00″W / 44.2295°N 76.4666°W /44.2295; -76.4666