Earnscliffe is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. During the late 19th century, it was home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Since 1930, it has served as the residence of the British High Commissioner to Canada.

Location and heritage status

The property overlooks the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

, just east of the

Macdonald-Cartier Bridge The Macdonald-Cartier Bridge (french: Pont Macdonald-Cartier) is a bridge connecting Ottawa, Ontario, to Gatineau, Quebec. The bridge is a 618 m long continuous steel box girder bridge and carries six lanes of traffic. It links King Edward Avenu ...

. It is located to the northwest of Sussex Drive, across from the

Lester B. Pearson Building The Lester B. Pearson Building is an office building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 125 Sussex Drive in the Lower Town neighbourhood and currently serves as the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada. It was officially opened on 1 A ...

. The house is a National Historic Site and the location of a plaque erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. However, since it is a diplomatic residence, it is closed to visitors except for special public events, such as Doors Open Ottawa. It was designated as "Earnscliffe National Historic Site of Canada" on May 30, 1960.

History

The manor was built by Thomas McKay's company for his son-in-law, John McKinnon, from 1855 to 1857. McKinnon died suddenly in 1866 and the house was purchased by another of McKay's sons-in-law, Thomas Keefer. Two years later, he sold it to Thomas Reynolds, a railroad developer. Reynolds resided there for several years, and it was during this period that the house got the name ''Earnscliffe'', an archaic term for "eagle's cliff". Reynolds died in 1879, and his son sold the house to Sir John A. Macdonald in 1883. Macdonald had earlier stayed with Reynolds, and there are some stories that he gave it its name. When Sir John A. Macdonald visited, they discussed about its name as ''Eaglescliffe'', but he suggested the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word for eagle, , and his suggestion was accepted. In 1888, Macdonald made several additions to the structure. In 1891, Macdonald fell ill, and he died in his room at Earnscliffe. His widow, Lady Macdonald, briefly continued to reside in the home after his death, and Queen Victoria made her Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe. Soon, however, Lady Macdonald and her daughter departed for England and leased the house to Lord Treowen, commander of the militia. Over the next decades, the building was home to several local notables, including Mrs. Charles A.E. Harriss. In 1930, William Henry Clark, the first British high commissioner to Canada, arranged to buy the house for the British government. It has been the home of the British high commissioner ever since. In 2005, a plaque and tree was installed on the grounds of Earnscliffe, in commemoration of the CANLOAN program and its participants. On October 4, 2011, a fire damaged the building. British High Commissioner Andrew Pocock, living in the house at the time, was fine and no one was injured in the fire.

References

External links

1955 booklet outlining the history of the building (pdf)
{{NHSC Diplomatic residences in Ottawa Gothic Revival architecture in Ottawa Canada–United Kingdom relations National Historic Sites in Ontario Houses completed in 1855 John A. Macdonald Designated heritage properties in Ottawa Sussex Drive

Location and heritage status

History

See also

References

External links