The Battery, St. John’s, NL: The Neighbourhood Beneath Signal Hill

The Battery beneath Signal Hill in St. John’s.

Most people see the Battery before they know its name.

Its houses appear in photographs of St. John’s, scattered across the rocks beneath Signal Hill in red, blue, yellow and green. From across the harbour, they look as though they were placed there for the view.

They weren’t.

The Battery was shaped by work, weather and the shortage of level ground along the edge of St. John’s Harbour. Families built close to the water because their livelihoods depended on it. Houses, fishing stages and pathways were fitted wherever the rock allowed, creating the neighbourhood visitors photograph today.

It is easy to look at the Battery and see only colourful houses. But this was a fishing community long before it became one of the most recognizable parts of St. John’s.

Where Is the Battery?

The Battery sits at the base of Signal Hill on the north side of the Narrows, the narrow entrance connecting St. John’s Harbour to the Atlantic Ocean.

It begins just beyond the eastern end of downtown and continues along the shoreline towards the harbour entrance. Roads wind around exposed rock, steps connect different levels and some houses can only be reached along narrow paths.

The Battery is part of St. John’s, but it has often been described as an outport within the city. That description makes sense when you walk through it. The houses face the water, old fishing premises remain along the shore and the shape of the neighbourhood has more in common with a small Newfoundland fishing community than a planned city street.

The Battery occupies a narrow strip of land between Signal Hill and the water. 

Before It Was Called the Battery

The area was once known as Crow’s Nest Cove.

Like many communities around Newfoundland, it developed because of the fishery. Buildings were constructed directly on or beside the shoreline so families could reach the water, land their catch and process fish close to home.

The roads and paths came second.

That helps explain why the Battery can feel confusing to someone walking through it for the first time. It was not laid out as a tidy residential neighbourhood. People built around cliffs, coves, fishing premises and the limited pieces of ground available to them.

The unusual arrangement was practical. A house at the water’s edge placed a fishing family close to its boat and stage. A path cut across the hillside because that was where a path could fit. The steep steps and narrow lanes that now attract photographers grew from necessity, not urban planning.

Homes and fishing premises were built directly against the shoreline. 

How the Battery Got Its Name

The name came from the military gun batteries constructed around the harbour entrance.

Beginning in the 17th century, defences were installed around Signal Hill and the Narrows to protect St. John’s from attack. The harbour was enormously valuable. Whoever controlled its entrance controlled access to the town, its ships and much of the fishery based there.

Gun emplacements were positioned on the slopes above the Battery and around the Narrows. One of them, Fort Waldegrave, stood on the Signal Hill side and supported the defences near Chain Rock.

Chain Rock is not merely a colourful local name. A large defensive chain could once be stretched across the Narrows between the Battery side and Fort Amherst on the opposite shore. The chain was intended to prevent an enemy vessel from entering the harbour unnoticed.

In other words, St. John’s Harbour once had the military equivalent of locking the front door.

During the First and Second World Wars, anti-submarine nets were used across the harbour entrance instead. The technology changed, but the concern remained the same: the narrow passage that made St. John’s such a useful harbour also made control of the Narrows essential.

The guns and defensive chain eventually disappeared. The name did not.

A Fishing Community Beside the Defences

The military history explains the name, but it does not fully explain the neighbourhood.

While soldiers watched the harbour entrance, generations of Battery residents continued fishing from the shoreline below. Homes and fishing premises stood close together, and knowledge of the fishery passed through families.

Memorial University’s Intangible Cultural Heritage collection records memories from residents who grew up in the Battery, fished from it and watched the community change.

Until relatively recently, many of the same families remained in the neighbourhood for generations. People knew who lived in each house. Fishing, preparing the catch and maintaining the buildings along the shore were part of community life.

The houses may now be the most photographed part of the Battery, but the old stages along the water reveal more about why the community exists.

The Battery was built around the rock rather than according to a street plan. 

Living Beneath Signal Hill

The setting that makes the Battery so striking has never made it easy to live there.

The Battery disappears quickly when the fog moves across Signal Hill.

The neighbourhood is exposed to Atlantic storms, high winds and rough seas. Behind the houses, the slopes of Signal Hill rise sharply. Residents have also lived with the danger of falling rock and avalanches.

In February 1959, an avalanche struck the Battery, destroying several houses and killing five people. Other storms have damaged buildings and swept structures from the shoreline.

During Snowmageddon in January 2020, an avalanche struck a Battery home after record snowfall and powerful winds. Nobody was killed, but the event was a reminder that the danger associated with the hillside has not completely disappeared.

This is another part of the Battery that photographs cannot fully show. The same cliffs that create such a dramatic setting have always demanded respect from the people living beneath them.

The End of One Way of Life

For most of its history, the Battery’s identity remained tied to the inshore fishery.

That began to change dramatically around the time of the northern cod moratorium in the early 1990s. Fishing activity declined, stages were abandoned and the community had to adjust to the loss of the work that had shaped it.

The change was not unique to the Battery. Fishing communities across Newfoundland were confronting the same question: what happens to a place when the reason it developed is suddenly gone?

In the Battery, the answer is still unfolding.

Some residents continued fishing. Others were attracted by the area’s close community, its views or its artistic character. Houses that were once located in a difficult working neighbourhood became highly desirable properties.

That shift brought higher prices, new development and continuing arguments about what should be preserved. The Battery is no longer the fishing community it once was, but neither is it simply a historic display.

People still live here.

Narrow roads and footpaths connect different parts of the neighbourhood. 

Walking Through the Battery Today

The Battery is easy to reach from downtown, but walking through it does not feel like walking through the rest of the city.

Battery Road winds past houses built against the rock before continuing towards Outer Battery Road. From there, the route leads towards the North Head Trail and the climb up Signal Hill.

The hills and steps can be demanding, especially when the ground is wet. Wear proper footwear and check conditions before attempting the North Head Trail. It includes steep sections, exposed terrain and a considerable climb.

If you want the history behind the hill above the neighbourhood, read about the Battle of Signal Hill before you go.

Driving through the Battery is possible, but it is rarely the best way to experience it. The roads are narrow, parking is limited and turning around can become more complicated than expected. Walking allows you to notice the paths, fishing stages and relationship between the houses and shoreline.

Remember that this is a residential neighbourhood. The lanes, steps, decks and doorways are not public photography sets. Enjoy the views, but remember to not enter private property, block entrances or photograph residents through their windows. 

Is the Battery Part of Jellybean Row?

The Battery is often included in photographs and discussions of St. John’s colourful houses, but it is not a single street called Jellybean Row.

In fact, Jellybean Row is not one particular street either. It is a popular name used for brightly painted houses found throughout St. John’s.

The Battery has its own identity. Its buildings were shaped by the shoreline, the fishery and the steep slopes beneath Signal Hill. Reducing it to colourful houses misses most of what makes it interesting.

A Neighbourhood That Explains St. John’s

The Battery contains much of the story of St. John’s in one small stretch of shoreline.

It grew because of the fishery. It took its name from the defences guarding the harbour. Its buildings were forced to adapt to steep rock, harsh weather and limited space. The cod moratorium changed its purpose, while tourism and rising property values changed how outsiders saw it.

Today, the Battery is one of the most photographed parts of St. John’s.

Its beauty comes from the way generations of people built around the rock, the water and the steep slopes beneath Signal Hill.

The result is a neighbourhood shaped by this city’s landscape and history, and one that is unmistakably St. John’s.

The Battery beneath Signal Hill at night. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called the Battery?

The neighbourhood takes its name from the military gun batteries once positioned around the harbour entrance to defend St. John’s.

Where is the Battery in St. John’s?

The Battery is located at the base of Signal Hill on the north side of the Narrows, immediately east of downtown St. John’s.

Can you walk through the Battery?

Yes. Battery Road and Outer Battery Road can be explored on foot, and the neighbourhood connects with the North Head Trail. Be prepared for hills, steps and uneven ground.

Is the Battery a tourist attraction?

The Battery is a residential neighbourhood rather than a formal attraction. Visitors are welcome to walk its public roads and paths but should respect private homes and property.

Is the Battery the same as Jellybean Row?

No. The Battery contains many colourful houses, but it is a distinct historic neighbourhood shaped by fishing and the defences around St. John’s Harbour.