Officers' Quarters, Fort George National Historic Site, 51 Queen's Parade, Niagara on the Lake, ON
Excerpt from parkscanadahistory.com/brochures/fortgeorge/booklet-tour-...:
Officers’ Quarters: Officers expected to live like gentlemen, even on the frontier, and those at Fort George were no exception. They attempted to re-create in their living quarters the high material and social standards they were accustomed to in Great Britain. The mess — the centre of social activity — is the central feature of this building. Originally, the word mess meant to eat. Later, it came to mean dining together, and ultimately, to signify a dining room or social area.
Elaborate mess rules were established, and social life here became a military version of civilian "high society." Dinners were sophisticated affairs, complete with silverware, fine china, pewter serving dishes, and decanters of port and sherry. After dinner, card games, music, and more imbibing of wine would conclude the evening in the games room.
The bedrooms or personal quarters reflect the background, rank, and interests of the officers. Some furniture was brought from home, some purchased from local cabinet-makers or tradesmen, and some supplied by the barrackmaster.
Officers' Quarters, Fort George National Historic Site, 51 Queen's Parade, Niagara on the Lake, ON
Excerpt from parkscanadahistory.com/brochures/fortgeorge/booklet-tour-...:
Officers’ Quarters: Officers expected to live like gentlemen, even on the frontier, and those at Fort George were no exception. They attempted to re-create in their living quarters the high material and social standards they were accustomed to in Great Britain. The mess — the centre of social activity — is the central feature of this building. Originally, the word mess meant to eat. Later, it came to mean dining together, and ultimately, to signify a dining room or social area.
Elaborate mess rules were established, and social life here became a military version of civilian "high society." Dinners were sophisticated affairs, complete with silverware, fine china, pewter serving dishes, and decanters of port and sherry. After dinner, card games, music, and more imbibing of wine would conclude the evening in the games room.
The bedrooms or personal quarters reflect the background, rank, and interests of the officers. Some furniture was brought from home, some purchased from local cabinet-makers or tradesmen, and some supplied by the barrackmaster.