West Building of the Cannon Yard

OBJECT DESCRIPTION

The West Building is a component of the Cannon Yard Complex.

The building was erected in 1812, it housed a forge with 32 furnaces. Construction works took place during the Patriotic War, when the country’s industry was focused on combating Napoleonic armies. The building suffered tremendously from the fire in 1815.

In 1836, the Junker Military School utilised this structure to house carriage houses, ice cellars, drying rooms, and warehouses. At that time, the second storey was added to the building, and a wooden gallery appeared. By the end of the 20th century, the building had become severely dilapidated; restoration works were carried out, and as a result of it, the building received its original appearance.

The one-storey, extended building had a single-pitched roof with 16 pipes. Each pipe was connected to two furnaces. The extended building is divided into four sections, each with a firewall (a blind fire wall) facing the roof. Along the main façade, each section has six windows with shallow arches that are divided in half by gates with three-centre arches. The windows have wrought-iron lattices with wavy components attached with brackets. The gate is made of wood, double-leafed, and features forged thole pins (heel) and knockers. The building’s rafters and stands are exposed, and the warm ceiling is sewn to them.

The building was renovated in 1995–1999 under the direction of F.M. Zabirova of PTM SA RT; the architect was R.M. Zabirov; and the engineering part of the project was carried out by “Tatinvestgrazhdanproekt” Company under the direction of I.S. Abdrakhmanov and engineer A.I. Iskhakov.

The Western Building of the Cannon Yard now houses a Crafts Centre, a jewellery salon-workshop, and a blacksmith shop with pottery and sewing workshops, all affiliated with the Republic of Tatarstan Chamber of Crafts.