St. John's, NF
Commissariat House was built on King's Bridge Road between 1818 and 1820 for the Assistant Commissariat General who would make provisions for the British troops, stationed at Fort Townshend, Fort William and Signal Hill. In 1870, Britain pulled its troops out of the Colony of Newfoundland and the house was taken over by the Anglican Church for use as a rectory for the minister of the nearby St. Thomas's Anglican Garrison Church. With the exception of 1917-1921, when it was used as a children's hospital, Commissariat House was a rectory for a full century. In 1969, it was turned over to the Governments of Newfoundland and Canada. It has been restored and it now a Provincial Historic Site.
The tour guides at Commissariat House are dressed in period costume of the 1830s era. Above is a picture of Jennifer Whitfield, the city's resident "haggis lady", preparing traditional Scottish food in honour of Sir John Laidley, the last Assistant Commissariat General who lived in Commissariat House.
At the time, Commissariat House was the grandest House in all of St. John's. This is the drawing room, so called because it was to this room that the ladies would withdraw after a meal to socialize, have tea, play party games, or sing.
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