Murney Tower

Murney Tower is a Martello tower in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, whose construction dates to 1846 and the Oregon crisis. While officially designated as Murray Tower, locals call it Murney Tower, as it was built on Murney Point . The Murneys have since relocated to the Cobourg area. Eventually the fort's name was changed to coincide with local usage.
Its builders intended that Murney Tower complement the fortifications of Fort Henry, Ontario, Cathcart Tower on Cedar Island, Shoal Tower in the Confederation Basin and Fort Frederick on the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada. In addition to protecting the harbour and approaches to Kingston, these fortifications were designed to concentrate fire on Gardiners Island; it being the only place to effectively land artillery at the time. The tower stands surrounded by a dry-ditch and is accessible only by draw-bridge. Constructed of limestone, Murney's walls are about 3 metres thick on the land side and up to 5 metres thick on the lakeside. The main floor was the barracks level and has two internal 32-lb caronade cannon directed out shuttered loops. These cannon could be moved about the interior embrasures, and so cover multiple approaches, including draw-bridge. The lower floor contained the ventilated magazine, storage, and infantry loopholes to scatter shot inside a dry-ditch. The uppermost level is the artillery platform which supports a large cannon that could be rotated along an iron track, thus providing full coverage about the tower's circumference. A 'rapid removal' roof was later added to protect the gun and keep out the large amounts of snow that did not figure into the Mediterranean design of the tower. The addition of a roof is a common feature on Canadian Martellos.

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