Artillery in Canada (5) Ontario: Toronto, Fort York and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC)

Toronto, Fort York and the RCYC

The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document every historical piece of artillery preserved in Canada.  Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these guns to provide and update the data found on these web pages.  Photos are by the author unless otherwise credited.  Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, corrections or amendments to this list of Guns and Artillery in Canada would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at [email protected].

For all official data concerning the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, please click on the link to their website:

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Website

According to the  1974 edition of ACP 125 Cansupp 1A, "Sheldrake" was the appointment title for the artillery representative in a headquarters.  "GOLF" was the arms indicator to be used by artillery callsigns on nets other than their own, especially those of the supported arms.

Toronto, Fort York

Blomefield Cast Iron 18-pounder smoothbore muzzleloading (SBML) cannon, weight 41-1-7 (4,627 lbs), stamped above the cascabel (unusual placement),  Samuel Walker & Company of Rotherham, England (WCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 54) on right trunnion, King George III cipher, broad arrow mark (below the Serial No., also an unusual placement), mounted on a long traversing wood carriage, first cannon on the right South side of the West Gate.

Cast Iron 8-inch 65-cwt Smoothbore Shell Gun with Millar pattern breeching ring, weight 64-3-11 (7,263 lbs), 1843 above the vent, no cipher, broad arrow mark, Samuel Walker & Company of Rotherham, England (WCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 406) on right trunnion, unmounted, on the ground, second cannon on the south side to the right of  the West Gate.

Cast Iron 8-inch 65-cwt Smoothbore Shell Gun with Millar pattern breeching ring, weight 64-3-7 (7,259 lbs), 1843 above the vent, no cipher, broad arrow mark,  Samuel Walker & Company of Rotherham, England (WCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 403) on right trunnion, CV C T, unmounted, on the ground, third cannon on the south side to the right of the West Gate.

Blomefield Cast Iron 24-pounder 50-cwt SBML cannon, weight 47-2-0 (5,320 lbs), under the cascabel, Carron Company of Falkirk, Scotland (Serial No. 56737, CARRON, 1797) on left trunnion, (24P) on right trunnion, King George III cypher, broad arrow mark, mounted on an iron garrison carriage. West side of Circular Battery, South Wall.  

Blomefield Cast Iron 32-pounder 56-cwt SBML cannon, weight 56-0-1 (6,273 lbs) under the cascabel,  Samuel Walker & Company of Rotherham, England (WCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 357) on right trunnion, King George III cipher, broad arrow mark, mounted on a 24-pounder iron garrison carriage.  East side of Circular battery.  This Blomefield Cast Iron 32-pounder 56-cwt SSBML cannon has a length of 9 feet 6 inches.  It is the most common 32-pounder in Canada and can be recognized by a reinforcing ring that is slightly raised followed by a definite "step-down" in the barrel just forward of the trunnions heading to the muzzle.

Blomefield Cast Iron 32-pounder 56-cwt SBML cannon, weight 56-0-0 (6,272 lbs), below the cascabel, Samuel Walker & Company of Rotherham, England (WCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 169) on right trunnion, King George III cypher, broad arrow mark, mounted on an iron garrison carriage.  North Wall.

Blomefield Cast Iron 24-pounder 50-cwt SBML cannon, weight 48-0-0 (5,376 lbs) under the cascabel, The Carron Company of Falkirk, Scotland (Serial No. 63011, CARRON, 1802) on left trunnion, (24P) on right trunnion, King George III cipher, broad arrow mark, mounted on a wood traversing gun carriage. North side of West Gate.

(Author Photos)

Bronze 9-pounder 13-1/2-cwt SBML cannon, weight 12-2-22 (1,422 lbs), F.M. EARDLEY-WILMOT (Frederick Marow Eardley-Wilmot)(Superintendant of the Royal Gun Factory at Woolwich, England, 1859, B of O, Queen Victoria cypher, broad arrow mark, mounted on a wheeled wood field carriage.

(Ruth Rhynas-Brown Photo)

(Fort York, City of Toronto artifact collection X.3382.1)

English cast iron 20-pounder smoothbore muzzleloading Culverin Drake cannon, weight 48-3-0 (4,460 lbs), 1650, (formerly known as the "Simcoe Gun", French Model). The trunnions and cascable have been removed. The cast Commonwealth arms and cipher have been removed rom the barrel between the trunnions and replaced with the King Charles II cipher (c1649-1659). Measurements: 259.08 cm[length] x 41.91 cm [width] x 41.61 [diameter] [bore]. It is stored in Blockhouse No. 2.

Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796. LGen Simcoe used this gun to fortify Toronto in the 1790s and it later saw service during the War of 1812 and the Battle of York. The gun was excavated at Fort York in 1933.

This Culverin Drake may have been in use at the time of Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658). Cromwell was an English statesman, politician, and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British  history. Most most of the cast-iron commonwealth cannons were intended for the Navy rather than the Army. Because it is missing its trunnions, it may have been shipped to Canada as ballast, rather than used as a functioning cannon. (Ruth Rhynas-Brown) 

Hudson’s Bay Company guns – City of Toronto artifact collection

Fort York asked for two 7-foot guns from HBC in the 1930s. Two were sent, but one was a 5-footer. Fort York asked for a third longer gun - it is unclear if it was sent.

2006.1.1.1. Other number: X.3384.1

(Fort York Photo)

English, Borgard pattern cast iron 6-pounder 12-cwt SBML cannon, weight 12-0-14 (1,358 lbs), 1720, cast for the civilian market. The gun was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and used at either Fort Prince of Wales near Churchill, Manitoba or Moose Factory in northern Ontario, or both. Measurements: 228.5 cm [barrel] (Length); 30.5 cm [barrel] (Width); 9.5 cm [bore].

A bronze plaque, dated 1934, is fixed to gun carriage to acknowledge lthe loan of the gun from the Hudson's Bay Company [2006.1.1.2]. One gun (2006.1.1.1) was at the Hudson's Bay Company post at Moose Factory, Ontario, by 1878.  By 1934 in had been transferred to the HBC facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  In 1934 it was shipped to Toronto and placed on display in the Circular Battery at Fort York.  It has remained on display at the museum and is currently part of the "Soldier's Trade: Artillery" exhibit in the Centre Blockhouse, at Fort York. Title was officially transferred in 2006.

 2006.1.2. Other number: 1960.1073.17

(Fort York Photo)

Civilian 4-pounder iron gun, 18th century [mounted on a wooden reproduction navalcarriage which is not part of the artifact. L. Buchanan 2/10/2012].  Weight 10-2-4 (1,720 lbs), on the first reinforce; the letter "P" pecked into the first reinforce below the ring. The gun was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and used at either Fort Prince of Wales near Churchill, Manitoba or Moose Factory in northern Ontario, or both. Dimensions: 157.5cm  [62 in] (Length); 35.6 cm  [14 in] (Width);9.5 cm (bore)  [3 3/4 in] (bore)

Formerly catalogued as part of a numbered exhibit display (1960.1073.17):  "RECONSTRUCTION OF SECTION OF MAIN DECK. HMS NANCY; MOSTLY REPROS. LARGE AND SMALL CANNON MAY BE ORIGINAL. MANILLA ROPE ABOUT 65' LONG. SECTION OF MAIN SHROUDS AND NECESSARY RIGGING." The second gun (1960.1073.17) most likely arrived from Winnipeg in 1934.  It was placed in storage until it was incorporated into a diorama depicting a section of deck of the HMS Nancy in the"Warships Room" exhibit, Marine Museum of Upper Canada in 1960.  It was incorporated in the "War on the Lakes" exhibit at the Pier: Toronto's Waterfront Museum. It remained there until 2001 when it was transferred to storage.

(John Antoni Photo)

Cast Iron 12-pounder 6-cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Carronade with a Blomefield pattern breeching ring,  weight 6-3-6 (762 lbs), reproduction, mounted on a wood stand, Blockhouse No. 2.

Blomefield Cast Iron 12-pounder 34-cwt SBML cannon, weight 34-0-10 (3,818 lbs), 4.5-inch, King George III cypher, broad arrow mark.  Blockhouse No. 2.

Bronze Coehorn 4.65-inch SBML Mortar, (Serial No. 118), reproduction, King George II cypher.  Blockhouse No. 2.

Cast Iron 9-pounder 24-cwt SBML cannon, weight 23-2-10 (2,642 lbs), King George II cypher, ca. 1737-1756, Armstrong pattern, no trunnions, no button.  Blockhouse No. 2.

Bronze 6-pounder 6-cwt SBML cannon, weight 6-?-8 (>680 lbs), 1798, King George III cypher, lost from William Perry’s HMS Fury, found in 1930s by Lord Cornwallis.  Blockhouse No. 2.

Cast Iron 3-pounder SBML cannon, reproduction, sleeved, mounted on a field carriage with limber, used for demonstrations.  Blockhouse No. 2.

Cast Iron 3-pounder SBML cannon, reproduction, sleeved, mounted on a field carriage with limber, outside Blockhouse No. 2.

Cast Iron ½ -pounder SBML cannon, weight 1-0-26 (138 lbs).  Blockhouse No. 2.

Cast Iron 1-pounder SBML cannon with trunnions and button, 18th century.  Blockhouse No. 2.

Fort York Armoury

Fort York Armoury is a Canadian Forces facility located near the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition at the intersection of Fleet Street and Fort York Boulevard, close to historic Old Fort York.

(Robert Colman Photos)

LAV III replica memorial.

Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC), 141 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2L8.

The RCYC has two Clubhouses, one in the heart of the city and the other on Toronto Island.

(RCYC Photos via David Wetherston)

Armstrong 20-pounder 16-cwt Rifled Breech-loading Gun, weight (likely in the vicinity of 16-2-0 (1,848 lbs)) on the barrel below the cypher, made by Armstrong, (Serial No. to be confirmed, likely ca 1860) on the left trunnion, (+) on the right trunnion, Queen Victoria cypher, mounted ona wood naval stand, facing the water.  The land service model of this gun was introduced in 1860.  It is identified by its two long chase hoops, no muzzle swell and its distinctive breech mechanism.

(This RBL is one of two that came to the RCA in 1870 and is one of our “original” guns - as opposed to the rest that we picked up from the British when we took over Halifax in 1905).  Doug Knight.

(RCYC Photo via David Wetherston)

(RCYC Photos via David Weatherston)

Cast Iron 8-inch 65-cwt Smoothbore Shell Gun with a Millar pattern breeching ring, weight 64-3-24 (7,164 lbs), 1843 above the vent, no cipher, broad arrow mark, (BFCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 402) on right trunnion, mounted on a wood stand, right of the flagpole in the Royal Canadian Yacht Club facing the water.  No. 1 of 2.

(RCYC Photos via David Weatherston)

Cast Iron 8-inch 65-cwt Smoothbore Shell Gun with a Millar pattern breeching ring, weight 65-3-23 (7,387 lbs), 1844 above the vent, no cipher, broad arrow mark, (BFCo) on left trunnion, (Serial No. 148) on right trunnion, mounted on a wood stand, left  of the flagpole in the Royal Canadian Yacht Club facing the water.  No. 2 of 2.

(David Weatherston Photo)

Small bronze saluting gun - no data.

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