Fort Amherst, St. John's

Neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Fort Amherst is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at 47°33′48.96″N 52°40′49.60″W / 47.5636000°N 52.6804444°W / 47.5636000; -52.6804444, on the southern side of the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's harbour. Apart from some family dwellings, Fort Amherst consists of a man-made harbour,^[3] a lighthouse^[4] and the remains of gun emplacements built during World War II to defend against German U-boats. Two QF 4.7-inch B Mark IV* guns remain in place on their mountings.^[5]

The original fortifications at Fort Amherst, built in the 1770s, are no longer visible.^[5] The fortifications were named for William Amherst,^[6] who successfully recaptured St. John's from French forces in 1762.^[7] The fort operated in conjunction with Fort Waldegrave for much of its history. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1951.^[8]

The name is shared with Port La-Joye / Fort Amherst in Prince Edward Island and Fort Amherst in England.

The first lighthouse in Newfoundland was built at Fort Amherst in 1810.^[9] The current lighthouse was built in 1951.^[4]

See also

• List of lighthouses in Canada
• Neighbourhoods in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Gallery

• 
  One of two surviving QF 4.7-inch B Mark IV* guns at Fort Péninsule, Forillon National Park, Quebec. It is similar to the guns at Fort Amherst.
• 

References

1. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Southeastern Newfoundland". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
2. List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2016.
3. "Fort Amherst small boat harbor". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
4. "Fort Amherst lighthouse". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
5. "Fort Amherst history". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
6. "The Grand Concourse: Plans Presented for Fort Amherst". Retrieved 2009-08-16.
7. "The Recapture of St. John's, Newfoundland in 1762". Retrieved 2008-05-07.
8. Fort Amherst. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
9. "Historic sites around St.Johns". Archived from the original on 2007-08-14. Retrieved 2007-08-27.