The Bate-Fenton House (or Bate's House) is a prominent heritage example of Canadian

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

situated on Embassy Row in

Sandy Hill, Ottawa Sandy Hill (french: Côte-de-Sable) is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, located just east of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal, and on the east by the Rideau River. To the north it stretches to Rideau ...

near Strathcona Park. It was described as the "homestead property" of the influential Bate family.

History

Hermine Gerald was one of eleven children of the entrepreneur and head of the Ottawa Improvement Commission,

Henry Newell Bate Sir Henry Newell Bate (April 9, 1828 – April 7, 1917) was a wealthy Canadian industrialist and the first Chairman of the Ottawa Improvement Commission, founded in 1899 (now the National Capital Commission). Bate was knighted in 1910 by Kin ...

. Henry Newell had previously built a house, "elaborate even for its time, sparing no decorative detail" at 318 Fraser St in 1875, and the nearby Bate Island at the Champlain Bridge was named for him. Gerald noted the approximate costs of his intended construction in the 1893 Ottawa Journal as an initial $15,000, with a 24x35 "addition" costing $3,500, and a two-storey 48x22 horse stable costing $3000. Construction began on the house in 1894 and was completed in 1895 by Major Hermine Gerald Bate, who had previously been living at 216 Chapel St. While Gerald, a veteran of the Fenian Raids and the North-West Rebellion, lived at the Bate's House at 455 Wilbrod St, his brother Harry lived at 440, his brother Thomas at 469 and his sister Claudia at 396. In 1909, the residence was listed as the headquarters for "H. N. Bate & Sons Wholesale Grocers". When Gerald's wife, Kathleen M. Bates, died on January 5, 1924, the Anglican

funeral procession A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a cof ...

left from 455 Wilbrod St to All Saints Anglican Church which had been built by his father whose realty company he ran.Bate Funeral was Largely Attended
Ottawa Citizen, Jan 8, 1924 In addition to noting the presence of prominent Canadians such as former Prime Minister

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

, Secretary of State

George Halsey Perley Sir George Halsey Perley (September 12, 1857 – January 4, 1938) was an American-born Canadian politician and diplomat. Early life Born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the son of William Goodhue Perley and Mabel E. Ticknor Stevens, Perley was ed ...

and Chief Justice

Francis Alexander Anglin Francis Alexander Anglin PC (April 2, 1865 – March 2, 1933) was the seventh Chief Justice of Canada from 1924 until 1933. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, one of nine children of Timothy Anglin, federal politician and Speaker of the ...

, the

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...

also printed the names of all 94 individuals who brought flowers. She left nearly $250,000, evenly split between their three children. The architect Werner Noffke drew up construction plans for a new Sandy Hill residence of Gerald Bate's son G. Aldous Bate in 1930 at 32 Range Road, which are today kept in the

National Archives of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

. The

ran a story when G. Aldous Bate received a $2–3 fine "for a breach of parking regulations", identifying him as now living at the Range Road property. In November 1934, Gerald Bate died following three weeks of illness during which he didn't leave the house, leaving a substantial estate evaluated at $747,527.78 (equal to $14,161,498.50 in 2019) which was apportioned between his two sons and his only surviving daughter Marjorie St. Helene Fenton, who had married Major William Seabright Fenton.Total Shared by 3 members of his family
Ottawa Citizen, January 14, 1935 The newspapers reported on the probate of his will by executors Hill, Hill and Maclaren, in which "Mrs. Fenton receives his homestead property at 455 Wilbrod Street, together with all household goods, furniture and other chattels", and his obituary noted he was "associated with many of the leading enterprises of the capital, particularly in the field of real estate, he was one of the best-known figures in the life of the city". As Marjorie and her husband Major Fenton took control of the property, they employed Louise Healey, Margaret (Madge) Hood and Theresa Glisinski as maids. By 1968, they had retained Healey and Hood, and also hired Florence Nichols as the live-in cook. In 1948, their 30-year-old son GB Fenton, who had returned from

tank warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (mechanized forces, armoured forces or armored forces) (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armored fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, wrote away to the Famous Fantastic Mysteries magazine, ask readers interested in purchasing The King in Yellow, The Man Who Mastered Time, The Island of Captain Sparrow,

The Maracot Deep ''The Maracot Deep'' is a short 1929 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle about the discovery of a sunken city of Atlantis by a team of explorers led by Professor Maracot. He is accompanied by Cyrus Headley, a young research zoologist and Bill Scanlan, a ...

or Morning Star, to contact him at the Bate-Fenton House. GB Fenton married Elisabeth Anne Slattery in January 1950. On November 11, 1970, Lt. Colonel William Fenton died. The building served as the headquarters of the Iraqi-Canadian Friendship Association.

Description of the property

In 1952, the Ottawa Citizen ran an article "The Bates Were Into Everything", in which they noted the Bate-Fenton House as "a large impressive house on Wilbrod Street". In 2003, the "Western Canada Handbook" mistakenly identified the house as the Austrian embassy, which is actually adjacent to it. The Bate-Fenton House currently operates as a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

. In 2017, a Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment noted the Bate-Fenton House was surrounded with tall

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

hedges around the property. It is included in the Wilbrod Street Heritage Conservation District.

References

{{reflist

External links

Bate's House
Historic houses Houses completed in 1895 Houses in Ottawa Brick buildings and structures Victorian architecture