The Old King’s Head

Flight of the Royal George

Posted on Jun 27, 2012 | 0 comments

A re-enactment of the Flight of the Royal George will be taking place at Kingston and Bath this weekend.  The Royal George was a Kingston-built British warship that was pursued and attacked by an American naval squadron in Kingston harbour near the beginning of the war of 1812.

The event will feature five tall ships, 10 gunboats and 24-re-enactment regiments — from Ontario, Quebec and Kentucky — that will set up camps in Bath and Fort Henry.

For more info:  http://celebrate1812.ca/events/flight-of-the-royal-george

The Old King’s Head

Posted on Dec 1, 2011 | 1 comment

Working on a novel set in Kingston between 1820 and 1840, provisionally entitled The Old King’s Head, the name of a tavern from the era.

One tavern among very many.

78 taverns in 1812, servicing a population of 2250 and 1500 soldiers.  In 1842 Montreal with a population of 45 000 had 220 licensed premises.  Kingston, with less than a quarter of the population (8-9000) had more than half that many (136).

Apparently Kingston is still a hospitality centre, with one of the highest restaurants per capita of any city in Canada.