644Memorial Gates

University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register September ■ 2013

1. Statement of Significance

The Memorial Gates at the University of Saskatchewan were built between 1927 and 1928, and are, as their name suggests, both a memorial to the students and faculty who lost their lives in the First World War, and a ceremonial gate marking the original main entrance to the university. The Memorial Gates today are a reminder of the university’s history and of its place in world history. David R. Brown, whose architectural firm Brown and Vallance developed the 1909 Campus Plan and designed all of the university’s early buildings, also designed the Memorial Gates.

Three hundred and forty five students and faculty from the University of Saskatchewan served in the First World War. Of these, sixty-nine gave their lives. The Memorial Gates were first proposed in 1923 by the Graduate Students’ Society to commemorate the university’s fallen soldiers. With the support of President Walter Murray, the students undertook a fundraising campaign. Approximately one third of the $30,000 cost of the project was paid for by the Graduate Students’ Society.

644 Memorial Gates

Alternate NamesUniversity GatesMemorial Tablets

Architect(s)David R. Brown, Montreal

BuildersR.J. Arrand Contracting Company

Construction Dates1927-28

RecognitionUniversity of Saskatchewan ‘A’ Listing Recommended

Figure 1. Greystone showing signs of deterioration in the mortar joints. The right half of the photogaph shows an attempted repair using inappropriate material.

University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-380

The Memorial Gates are designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, built in local ‘greystone’, with carved ornamentation and copings in Indiana limestone. The gates themselves are of solid bronze, and were built in and imported from England. The Memorial Gates have cultural and historical value in their symbolic function as an entrance to the university and as a tribute to soldiers who were killed in the First World War. The raised cenotaph is a character-defining element, along with its inscriptions and list of fallen soldiers. The cenotaph originally listed 67 soldiers. Two names were mistakenly omitted from the list, but were added in 2013. Other character-defining elements include the location of the Gates at the original entrance to the university, the features that reflect the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture and the materials of the gates.

2. Character - Defining Elements

2.1 Materials The Memorial Gates are built of materials common to the University of Saskatchewan campus. The walls and piers are built primarily with local ‘greystone’ (Figure 1). Indiana limestone is used for cut stone trim and decoration (Figures 3 and 4). (For further information on building stones used at the U of S, refer to ‘Appendix: Stone’.) The cenotaph panels, which list the names of the deceased soldiers, are also made of Indiana limestone. The carved names were originally to be filled with lead, but this specification was never carried out. The gates themselves are constructed of bronze, and are suspended from four stone piers (Figure 5). The gates were manufactured in Cheltenham, England and were shipped to Canada. They each measure roughly 4.5 x 2.9 metres, and weigh over a thousand kilograms. Although weathered, the bronze components are in excellent condition. A base and a set of bollards are made of grey granite (Figure 6).

Figure 3. Indiana limestone showing signs of deterioration.

Figure 4. Limestone showing surface staining and corrosion.

Figure 6. Granite bollard.

Figure 5. Bronze gates.

Figure 2. The Memorial Gates as proposed by architect David R. Brown. The Gates were not built exactly as shown. Photo A-5946, retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/

Memorial Gates ■ 7-381

The physical condition of the Memorial Gates was recently assessed by the Facilities Management Division. This assessment noted that a combination of differential settlement and water ingress has caused cracking and spalling in many of the Indiana limestone elements (Figure 3). Surface staining and corrosion as a result of pollution and the build-up of organic materials is evident (Figure 4). Mortar joints are substantially deteriorated and require repointing. Attempts at repair have been undertaken with inappropriate materials (Figure 1). Cleaning and repairs were undertaken in 2013 to address these concerns.

2.2 Form & StyleThe Memorial Gates consist of a pair of ornate bronze gates in a low stone wall. Each gate is flanked by a pair of stone piers, about 6.4 metres tall. Each pair of gates defines an opening 5.5 metres wide, which originally formed a vehicular entrance to the university grounds. A slightly raised tablet forms the central feature of the composition, a cenotaph on which are inscribed the names of soldiers from the university killed during the war. The two outermost piers are each buttressed by a pointed arch marking a pedestrian path. The symmetrical composition of the Memorial Gates is a character-defining element (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Sketch by University Architect David Brown showing the symmetry of the design. Photo A-8523. retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/

Figure 8. Gothic arch marking a pedestrian pathway.

Figure 9. Stone pier, decorated with carved stone references to statuary niches, keyhole and gothic arches.

Figure 10. Keyhole arch motif.

University of Saskatchewan Heritage Register ■ 7-382

The Memorial Gates are Collegiate Gothic in style. This is most clearly apparent in the verticality of the stone piers and in the pointed arches marking the pedestrian walkways (Figure 8). Gothic motifs such as shields, buttresses, keyhole and pointed arches are all referenced in the form of the monument and in its carved stone decoration (Figure 9 & 10). Much of the cut stone decoration features flora such as cereal plants and flowers (Figure 11). Stone string courses and quoining are also characteristic features of the Gothic style (Figure 4).

Those features that reflect the Gothic style of architecture, such as vertical lines, symmetrical massing, Gothic stone tracery, and the decorative motif of the pointed arch are character-defining elements. As well, the craftsmanship involved in the stonework and bronze is a character-defining element contributing to the heritage value of the monument.

2.3 Location & Spatial ConfigurationThe site of the Memorial Gates marks the original main entrance to the campus, in a location close to that laid out in the 1909 Campus Plan by Architects Brown and Vallance. In that plan, a preliminary version of the gates formed the beginning

of a grand axis, aligned with Convocation Hall, a monumental building proposed as the focal point of the campus, but never built. Figure 12 shows the originally intended scale and location of the gates. The grand axis imagined in the 1909 Campus Plan was eventually abandoned, and the Royal University Hospital was built on part of the land originally proposed for this feature. Figure 13 shows the location at which the gates were actually sited; very close to the original plan. By 1957, a new master plan for roadways on campus had completely altered the original concept of a formal, Beaux-Arts plan, and the Memorial Gates had become the entrance to the hospital.

Figure 11. Carved stone reliefs feature flora and shields.

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Figure 13. The location of the Gates is indicated in green on this contemporary campus map. The plan is oriented with North to the left.

Figure 12. The gates originally planned by Brown and Vallance on the 1909 Campus Plan. Plan oriented with north to the left.

Memorial Gates ■ 7-383

Before the development of the railroad system in Saskatchewan and the agrarian settlement of the province, an extensive system of overland trails connected various aboriginal communities and fur trading posts. A trail from Moose Woods to Batoche crossed the current site of the University of Saskatchewan, where it joined the South Saskatchewan River on its way north. In the 1800’s, this was a busy route travelled by Metis, Sioux and Dakota people to Batoche and to the Cree settlements near Duck Lake. The trail followed the route of what are now Broadway Avenue and University Drive. The Memorial Gates were later built at the location where this trail crossed onto the site of the university (Figure 15).

In its current configuration, the gates are very much diminished from their former status as the university’s formal gateway. Over time, the development of the Royal University Hospital has disconnected it from the university campus. The road networks of the hospital and the university are now separate, such that the gates no longer form an entrance to the university campus. Also, with the re-orientation of roadways to circumvent the Memorial Gates, neither pedestrian nor vehicular traffic is really served by them any longer.

In the late 1980s various plans were considered to help ease the flow of traffic through the area, including moving the memorial Gates to another area of campus. The design finally adopted left the gates in their original location as a pedestrian entranceway, with traffic re-routed to the west.

Figure 14. Front elevation and plan drawing, dated 1927. Retrieved from Facilities Management Division Asset Record System, File MG-4-T.

Figure 15. Map of Trails Around Saskatoon as Existing in the Mid-1890’s. (Image: Saskatoon History, No. 1, 1980. John Duerkop and Michael Bourassa).

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The location of the Memorial Gates is a character-defining element, due to their original function as the main entrance to the university, due to their relationship to the 1909 Campus Plan and due to their position relative to the historical Moose Woods to Batoche trail.

2.4 SystemsAs a structure, the Memorial Gates are constructed as a low stone wall, with stone piers supporting the bronze gates and a stone arch on either side. The stone structures sit on shallow cast-in-place concrete foundations and footings. Over time, differential settlement of the concrete footings caused damage to the material integrity of the structure; however, this damage was substantially repaired in 2013.

2.5 Use(s)The Memorial Gates serve the commemorative purpose of remembering students and faculty members who gave their lives during the First World War. Remembrance Day services are still held at the Memorial Gates on November 11 of each year.

As described in Section 2.3, Location & Spatial Configuration, the Memorial Gates were originally used as a ceremonial entrance to the university intended for use by vehicles and pedestrians. Changes to the road networks serving the hospital and the university have altered both the physical and symbolic relationship between the Memorial Gates and the university.

2.6 Cultural & Chronological AssociationsThe Memorial Gates are most directly associated with the First World War and with the university’s role in that conflict. The impact of the First World War on the university was significant. In all, three hundred and forty five students, faculty, staff and alumni served during the war, a number roughly equal to the entire first-year class of 1913. In 1916-17, the Engineering Department was temporarily closed, because all of its students and faculty had enlisted. Of the soldiers who served, sixty-nine were killed, and the Memorial Gates were built in their memory. Figure 16 is a photograph of the inscribed names of the lost soldiers. An inscription on the Gates read: “These are they who went forth from this University to the Great War and who gave their lives that we might live in freedom.” The battles in which university men took part are listed on panels on either side of the cenotaph: ‘Ypres, Somme, Vimy, Paschendale, …Dury, Amiens, Cambrai’ (Figures 18 & 19).

Figure 16. The Gates being used as memorial at their unveiling, May 3, 1928. Photo A-532, retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/

Figure 17. The gates being used by students in the 1940’s. Photo A-536, retrieved from http://scaa.sk.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/

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Originally, the cenotaph only had sixty seven names inscribed on it. Research done by Professor Emeritus Michael Hayden in the early 2000’s revealed that two names had been missed during the original mason work. In 2013, the two missing names, George Israel Peters and Herbert Ernest McRitchie, were added to the tablet (figure 20).

The Collegiate Gothic style of the Memorial Gates derived from the mediaeval European precedents of the monastery and cloister, translated particularly through the college buildings of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and imported to North America in the designs of American universities such as Princeton and Yale. The style declared the new university’s link to an ancient academic and cultural tradition and the Memorial Gates made that declaration from the moment one entered the campus.

Frederick W.O. Haultain’s ashes are buried near the gates. Haultain was the second Chancellor of the university from 1917 to 1939 and held that position when the Gates were erected. The proximity of the gravesite associates the Chancellor with the Gates. Figure 21 depicts Haultain’s headstone.

Figure 19. Inscription on the west side of the cenotaph.

Figure 18. The cenotaph, listing the fallen soldiers.

Figure 21. Gravesite of Sir Frederick Haultain. Photo A-8778, retrieved from http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/uofs_buildings/

Figure 20. A stone mason carving one of the forgetten names of the fallen soldiers onto the memorial tablet, 2013. Photo retrieved from http://news.usask.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-13_web.pdf

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3. Supporting Documents Author Unknown. (October 5, 1928). Gates of Glory. Winnipeg Free Press, pp.17. Retrieved from http:// a r c h i v e s . w i n n i p e g f r e e p r e s s . c o m / R e g i s t r a t i o n L o c k d o w n . a s p x ? c t l = s e a r c h & returnurl=Search.aspx.

Duerkop, John & Lisa Dahlie Lough (1980). ‘Along the Trails to Saskatoon’. Saskatoon History, Saskatoon Heritage Society, Saskatoon. Issue No. 1, 1980.

Facilities Management Division (2011). Asset Resource Database [Data File]. Retrieved from \\usask\fmddfs \files\iis\IIS_Public\ARS

Hayes, P. (September 23, 2005). Gates Were Early Campus Entrance. On Campus News 13 (3). Retrieved from http:// news.usask.ca/archived_ocn/05-sep-23/column_ archives.shtml

Lomheim, S. (2011). Gates of Glory, Saskatoon History Review, 24, 28-31.

Mysyk, W.K. & Kulyk, C.L. (2006). Saskatoon’s Stone. Saskatoon: Houghton Boston Printers & Lithographers Ltd.

University of Saskatchewan Archives. Buildings and Grounds Department 2015, 9, Memorial Gates.

University of Saskatchewan Archives. President’s Office Fonds, Series VI. I. Acad. And Admin. 8. VP SP. Pro. I DI and Dev. 8-3: Memorial Gates 1986-1989.

University of Saskatchewan Archives. President’s Office Fonds, Series I. B. Name and Subject Files 71. Memorial Tablets and Gates (1918-1928).

Wallace, A. (2006). Memorial Gates, University of Saskatchewan Report on Physical Condition and Heritage Significance. Retrieved from Facilities Management Division, University of Saskatchewan.

MacPherson, C. (September 13, 2013). Gates Repaired, Missing Names Finally Added. On Canpus News 21(2). Retrieved from http://news.usask.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2013/09/2013-09-13_web.pdf

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4. Summary of Character - Defining ElementsMaterials ■ greystone walls & piers ■ cut and carved Indiana limestone trim and ornamentation ■ granite bollards and base ■ bronze gates and hardware Form & Style ■ features that reflect the Collegiate Gothic style of architecture ■ verticality of stone piers ■ pointed archways ■ symmetrical massing ■ Gothic stone tracery ■ Gothic motifs: pointed arches, keyhole arches ■ central cenotaph & plaques ■ low ‘wing walls’ ■ piers ■ statuary niche references ■ reliefs of local flora ■ quoining in stonework

Location & Spatial Configuration ■ location at original entrance to the University, ■ location in relation to 1909 Campus Plan ■ position on axis with University Drive ■ pedestrian and vehicular gateways ■ low ‘wing walls’ ■ central cenotaph Uses ■ Remembrance Day services ■ wreath laying ■ entrance to universityCultural & Chronological Associations ■ features that relate to its function as a memorial to the university’s war dead, such as the raised cenotaph with inscriptions and list of fallen soldiers ■ gravesite of Frederick W.O. Haultain ■ symbolic entrance to the university

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