Chapel Point in Sydney Mines was first selected as the site for a coast defence battery in 1846. There is some indication that the area had been used as a graveyard although it is not clear whether this was before or after the construction of the first battery.  Chapel’s proximity to the nearby coal mines operated by the General Mining Association was no coincidence. In the age of steam, coal was the fuel that powered new industries.

The longstanding rivalry between Britain and France required the British to take steps to protect her possessions in the Northwest Atlantic. The collieries around Sydney Harbour were vital resources at the dawn of the industrial revolution and their protection was of concern to both the local population and the British Admiralty.

The Chapel Point Battery around 1860

Richard Brown's Sydney Mines Volunteers

Although some time passed, eventually under the direction of Richard Brown of the GMA, the construction of a battery of six guns was begun on the cliffs at Chapel Point. As was common in the day construction continued in fits and spurts with the battery being mostly complete with guns emplaced around 1860.

These were smooth bore 32-pounder cannons. Later on, more advanced rifled muzzle loading cannons of the same weight were emplaced at the battery. Two additional embrasures were constructed to face a potential landing at Lloyd’s Cove just a few hundred yards to the north. In such an eventuality, two of the guns could easily be retrained to face the enemy.

These early works were the direct result of Richard Brown’s tireless efforts and boundless enthusiasm for the cause. Brown had also organized the first militia unit in that area, the Sydney Mines Volunteers which comprised two companies, each with sixty men each of all ranks by the summer of 1859. Brown commanded these men, most of whom worked in the mines of the GMA, until his retirement at the end of 1864.

One company was assigned to the battery at Chapel Point and the other would man a mobile field battery to protect the western approaches to the harbour. Although, these coal miners and tradesmen, the first local gunners, never did fire a shot in anger some of their descendants would see vigorous action in the legendary 36^th Battery Companies of The Royal Canadian Artillery during the First and Second World Wars.

By the time of the First World War, these early fortifications had all but vanished. They had fallen into disrepair during the latter part of the nineteenth century and most of the stone and brick had been used for the foundation of a nearby church. At the start of the war, a 4.7 inch breech loading gun on a traveling carriage was temporarily located at Chapel Point while a more permanent emplacement was constructed at nearby Cranberry Head at the mouth of the harbour. Throughout the war men were stationed at Chapel Point to guard the landing of the Trans Atlantic telegraph cable in Lloyd’s Cove. This vital communication link carried encrypted wartime messages between the leaders of the western powers in London, Washington and Ottawa.

 At wars end, Chapel like the other local coast defence installations fell into disuse. In November 1919 the Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa, commander of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland, commenced a year long tour of Canada to advise on post war defence policy. His recommendations took due consideration to the technological advances in warfare such as submarines and aircraft and he suggested as many as five batteries for Sydney Harbour. However, the interwar years saw massive cuts in military spending as a war weary population returned to peacetime lifestyles. Jellicoe’s report was mostly ignored until the mid thirties when war again loomed.

Written by: Craig Organ, September 2007