Notes

In 1859, Government House was demolished and the construction of the Fort was started despite protests from some quarters, which believed it was a mistake to locate the fort on the hill so far removed from shore. Built on an excavated plateau, the Fort was completed in 1861 by 400 Chinese coolies. It was named after Viscount Charles John Canning, Governor-General and First Viceroy of India (1856-1862).

There were seven 68-pounders positioned to face the sea by May 1859, another eight 8-inch shell guns and two 13-inch mortars were added in 1867, and a hospital for European artillerymen. A 68-pounder was fired at 5:00 am each morning, signalling the start of the day for those within a two-mile radius, enough for most residents around Fort Canning to take note. The cannons were also used until 1896 to signal the outbreak of fires. Unfortunately, when the Fort was completed, it was noticed that the fort at Pearl's Hill was higher and thus the Government Military Engineer ordered that Pearl's Hill be shaved off to meet the right height. The fort was demolished in 1907, never having been used in defence of the country. Currently, only two 9-pound cannons and the Gothic archway of its entrance (the Old Fort Gateway, 1859), designed by G. C. Collyer, still stand.