Travel just 6 miles southwest of Halifax, at Purcell’s Cove Road to visit this historic site. You’ll be able to visit a 200-year-old fort located on a high bluff overlooking the Halifax Harbor’s spectacular entrance. York Redoubt's original batteries were built in 1793, at the outbreak of war between Britain and revolutionary France.

When French warships were reported in the western Atlantic, harbor batteries were quickly erected to secure Halifax from attack by sea. Over the years the site was enlarged and strengthened. By the early 1860s, advances in artillery design had made the site obsolete. The rearmament of York Redoubt caused a complete reconstruction and enlargement of the site.

Despite the dramatic changes in appearance, the role of the new Redoubt remained much the same as the old. Its lofty vantage point gave York Redoubt an important communications role.