BLOCK 2, LOT G,
PROPERTY OF THE COMMISSAIRE

BY

BRENDA DUNN

1969

(Fortress of Louisbourg
Report H D 14 R)

HOUSE OF THE
COMMISSAIRE ORDONNATEUR

OUTBUILDINGS

III. OUTBUILDINGS

A. Proposed Prison

In 1737, the King granted permission for the construction of a new prison in Louisbourg. [39] Verrier proposed to build it in the lot H Rodrigue property and included a plan and profile of the proposed two-storey structure in his 1739 suggestions for the enlargement of the Ordonnateur's property. (See plans739-5 and 739-5a.) The prison was to be situated behind the proposed west addition. (See plans 739-5, 739-5a, 740-3, 741-2, 742-6, and 745-11.) The building apparently was never built, as no further reference to it has been found.

The information gained by analysis of the 1739 plans and profile of the proposed prison is of value for establishing Louisbourg typicals. The building was to be 29 pieds long and 16 pieds wide. Its masonry walls were to be 3 pieds thick on the ground floor and approximately 2 pieds thick on the second floor. A masonry partition was to divide the building into four cells (cachets).

Two cells, each 10 pieds square, were to be located on the ground floor, and two cells, each 12 pieds square, on the first stored. Female prisoners were to be detained in the first storey north cell and innkeepers in the south cell.

The Facade des Cachots locates two cut at one doorways and two cutstone vents on the ground floor facing the courtyard. Two cutstone windows on the first storey overlook the courtyard. Exterior stairs, leading to doors in the north and south end walls, give access to the first storey cells.

The Block 2 prison was to have a hipped roof. (See plans 739-5-(1), 740-3,741-2, 742-6, and 745-11.) Plan 739-5-(3) situates a chimney on the center of the roof.

Prison Latrine

Plans 739-5-(1), 739-5-(3), and 739-5a show a one-storey latrine on the south end of the proposed prison. (Also see plans 740-3 and 742-6.) The latrine was to be divided into two parts, with two doors in the east wall. The structure was to be 10 pieds  facing the courtyard, by 6 pieds, abutting against the prison, (See plan 739-5a )

B. Stables

Bigot erected a stable in the Ordonnateur's yard in 1739 to store poultry, sheep, and "other things necessary for nourishment". [46] It was situated in the southwest corner of the property, along the Rue Royalle. (See plans 739-5a,739-5-(1), and 740-3.)

The stable was a wooden structure. (See plans 739-5, 739-5a, 746-1, 746-6,and 768-1.) Plans 739-5 and 739-5a show posts on either side of each window and door in the north wall, on the ends of the interior partitions in the south wall, and in the four corners of the building. Two others are seen in the east and west walls.

Plans 739-5-(1) and 739-5a give the floor plan of the building. Wooden partitions divide the stable into four sections. There are four windows and four doors in the north wail one window and one door in each section. No doors or windows are located in the other walls and no interior connections are seen between the sections. A pitch roof with a dormer window faces the Rue Royalle.

A "fire", which could mean either a stove or fireplace, heated the stable in1739. [45]

Plans of the Ordonnateur's property show variations in the stable structure and indicate possible extensions. No documentation has been found to explain the building.

By 1741, the stable had extended along the Rue Royalle to the corner of the Rue St. Louis, running the entire length of the south boundary of the Ordonnateur's property. (See plans 741-2, 744-5, and 745--11 .) The extension shown is wider than the original building. The pitch roof continues along the structure.

A plank floor was laid in the Ordonnateur's stable in 1744. [5B] Two square toises 4 pieds of planking were laid on 48 pieds of 5x5 pouces beams.

The English plans of the Occupation Period present some problems.* [* The English plans of Block 2 are generally unreliable. (ea. Eight properties, rather than seven, are usually shown along the Block 2 Quay front.] Plans746-1, 746-4, 746-5, 746-6, and 746-B show the west wall of the stable abutting against the building in the next property. [Note plans 745-24, 746-2, 746-3, and747-1 for contradiction.] The building adjoining the stable was labelled part of the Governor's property on plans 746-4, 746-5, and 746-6.

Cartographic evidence indicates that prior to 1751 an addition was made on the west end of the stable, running at a right-angle into the Ordonnateur's yard.[Note plans 751-27, 757-6, and 75&-28.] A hip is shown on the north end of the roof of the extension. The extension does not appear on plan 767-1, where a slight extension is seen on the east end of the building. The stable on plan 768-1 has no extension.

Gibson Clough's diary presents a picture of the stable in c.1759. Single-storey buildings on the east and west ends of the property, as well as a two-storey building projecting into the center of the lot, form a stable complex. A main entrance is located on the east end of the stable, either in the north end of an east extension or in the east end wall. The clutch door and the elevation of the windows suggest that livestock were kept in the east building.

The stable was still occupied in 1767. Holland, in 1768, reported that it was in "tolerable" repair, meaning that it was "much out of repair". [93]

C. Dove-cote

In 1741, a colombier* or dove-cote was built in the Ordonnateur's yard. [55] The building was constructed of pinewood and English planks. [52,55] Seven square toises, 2 pieds, 4 pouces of wood shingles covered the roof. [54] The dove-cote was located in the southwest part of the yard, just in front of the stables. (See Clough's c.1759 sketch.) Plans 744-5, 745-11, 746-8, and 767-1 show a small square building in this approximate position. Gibson Clough depicts the dove-cote as around structure on a rectangular base. Round openings are situated just below the conical roof. A bauble sits on the peak of the roof.

[* Diderot, volume III, defines colombier as:

endroit où l'on tient des pigeons; c'est un pavilion rond ou quarré garni deboulins. I1 faut le placer au milieu ou dans un angle de la basse cour; le plancher & le plafond doivent en être bien joints, pour en écarter les rats & autres animaux; il faut qu'il soit blanc en-devant, parce que les pigeons aiment cette couleur; que la fenêtre soit à coulisse, pour l'ouvrir & la fermer d'em-bassoir & matin, par le moyen d'une corde & d'une poulie, & qu'elle soit tournée au midi; les boulins seront ou des pots ou des séparations faites de tuf ou de torchis; on les fera grands; le dernier rang d'em-bas sera à quatre piés de terre ou environ; le dernier d'en-haut à trois piés du fatte; on pratiquera au-bas de chaque boulin une avance sur laquelle le pigeon puisse se reposer.]

D. English Stable

The English reported that they had made "Several additional outhouses" at the "Intendance" during the Occupation. [66] The only new building mentioned, however, was a "New House for Stock". (See plans 745-23 and 746--8.) What seems to be the English stable appears on plan 767-1. A small projection, similar to these on other buildings on the plan, is shown on the northeast corner of the wooden structure.

E. 1750 Storehouse

In 1750 a large frame storehouse, revetted and covered with double planking, was dismantled in the yard of the Magazin General (in Block 1) and reassembled on the Ordonnateur's property. [73-7 to 10] A mud floor was established under the structure. Forty-two cubic pieds of pine and 570 pieds of Boston planks were used to finish the building.

It is possible that the storehouse was the English "Rough Shed for Wet-Provisions" shown in the Magasin yard on plans 745-23 and 746-8.