The Old General Military Hospital is a two-and-one-half storey, 19th century, concrete-parged hospital building located on King Edward Place in St. John’s, NL. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Formal Recognition Type
City of St. John's Heritage Building, Structure, Land or Area
Heritage Value
The Old General Military Hospital was designated a municipal heritage structure by the City of St. John’s because it has aesthetic and historical values.
The Old General Military Hospital is aesthetically valuable because it is a good surviving example of early 19th century institutional building construction. With concrete parging over early English bricks, the stark nature of this building is broken by the high, narrow windows and a parged, brick cornice. The truncated hipped roof features slate shingles and cornice moulding. Shed roof dormer windows punctuate the roof line, and in particular, the large dormer on the east side features six window openings side by side. Windows play a large role in this building, with many sizes, shapes and styles. On the second story there can be found 9/9 and 6/6 windows, while 9/9 windows are on the main floor. In addition to this, the rectangular double windows have heavy sills and the small rear porch at the south end has a hipped roof.
The Old General Military Hospital has historical value because it is among the oldest government buildings in Newfoundland. Built in 1851, the Military Hospital was first used for soldiers of the garrison. It is one of the last buildings still standing which was used by the British Garrison in Newfoundland. The heavy, solid masonry on stone construction was built by the workers who built the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the Roman Catholic Basilica of St. John the Baptist, and the Colonial Building, all in St. John’s. The garrison was withdrawn from Newfoundland in 1870 and the hospital was given to the Newfoundland Government as a hospital for men only. The adjacent Queen Victoria Wing was constructed in 1897 as a women’s hospital.
Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1 Springdale Street, P.O. Box 5171, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5V5
Character Defining Elements
All those existing original, exterior features of the Old Military Hospital which reflect the age, construction and design of the building, including:
-slate shingles;
-shed roof dormer windows, including the 6 window dormer;
-exterior parging;
-truncated, hipped roof with cornice moulding;
-parged brick cornice;
-number, size and fenestration of windows, especially the 9/9 windows on the main floor, the 6/6 and 9/9 windows on the second floor and the tall, narrow shape, size and openings of the long double windows with shared heavy sills;
-the rear porch on the south side with a hipped roof;
-the existing building height and two-and-one-half storey construction;
-location on original Old General complex site;
-orientation and dimensions; and
-general massing of the building.
Google map
Building Report: The General Hospital, St. John’s (1998)
