Earnscliffe is a Victorian manor in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, built in the Gothic Revival style. During the late 19th century, it was home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

. Since 1930, it has served as the residence of the

British High Commissioner to Canada The high commissioner of the United Kingdom to Canada is the United Kingdom's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative in Canada and is in charge of the British High Commission, Ottawa, British diplomatic mission to Canada. As fellow members ...

Location and heritage status

The property overlooks the Ottawa River, 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 Sussex Drive (french: Promenade Sussex), also known as Ottawa Regional Road93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ot ...

, across from the Lester B. Pearson Building. The house is a National Historic Site and the location of a plaque erected by the

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as bein ...

. However, since it is a diplomatic residence, it is closed to visitors except for special public events, such as

Doors Open Ottawa Doors Open Ottawa is an annual event held in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that gives the public access to many of the city's unique and historically significant buildings. Among the buildings included are government offices, museums, radi ...

. It was designated as "Earnscliffe National Historic Site of Canada" on May 30, 1960.

History

The manor was built by

Thomas McKay Thomas McKay (1 September 1792 – 9 October 1855) was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. Biography McKay was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason. He emigrated to the C ...

'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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

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 Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

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 Charles Albert Edward Harriss (16 or 17 December 1862 – 31 July 1929) was an English then Canadian composer, impresario, educator, organist-choirmaster and conductor. Early life and education Harriss was born in London, England, around midni ...

. In 1930,

William Henry Clark Sir William Henry Clark (4 January 1876 – 22 November 1952) was a British civil servant and diplomat. He was the first British High Commissioner to Canada 1928–1934. Early life Clark was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambr ...

, 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 The CANLOAN program (or the Canada Loan program) was a scheme created in 1944 to loan officers from the Canadian Army to serve in British Army units. The program's initial aims were to help supplement the undermanned British Army officer corps and p ...

program and its participants. On October 4, 2011, a fire damaged the building. British High Commissioner

Andrew Pocock Sir Andrew John Pocock (born 23 August 1955) is a British former diplomat who was High Commissioner to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS 2012–15. Early life and education Born in Trinidad and Tobago to John and Vida Pocock, And ...

, 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