Prince's Lodge is a neighbourhood located on the

shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

Bedford Basin Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. Geography Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the ...

, between the communities of Rockingham and

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada within the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

on the

Bedford Highway The Bedford Highway is a highway in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia that is part of Trunk 2. It runs around the western side of the Bedford Basin. The highway starts at the Windsor Street intersection on the Halifax Peninsula an ...

( Trunk 2).

History

Prince's Lodge was named for the estate that

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duk ...

resided in while in Halifax in from 1794 to 1800. In 1794, Prince Edward arrived to serve in Halifax as Commander-in-Chief of the King's forces in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He was accompanied by his French mistress Madame de Saint-Laurent. The Prince was often entertained by Sir John Wentworth, the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony, at his rural estate, the "Friar's Cell", as Wentworth called it, is an allusion to Shakespeare's

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

. The Prince liked it so much that Wentworth felt obliged to offer it to him during his stay in Halifax. Prince Edward accepted, and had the residence renovated into a two-storey (likely

Palladian architecture Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

mansion) and expanded, while also having the lands and gardens (with Chinese like pagodas) around the estate developed by a landscaper brought from England. The result was what is today Hemlock Ravine Park, with a heart-shaped pond known as Julie's Pond, constructed by order of the Prince in her honour. Halifax, Music Room 1794

The Wentworths resumed living in the Lodge when Prince Edward returned to the UK in 1798. Now called the Prince's Lodge, it was here that Wentworth established the Rockingham Club in the former officer's barracks. After Wentworth's death, the estate was neglected. By 1870, in ruins, it was sold at auction and divided into building lots. All that remains of the original estate is the music room ( Rotunda) less a foot bridge spanning over railway line, which the

Nova Scotia Government The Government of Nova Scotia (french: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, gd, Riaghaltas Alba Nuadh) refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is one of Canada's four Atlantic Provinces, and the se ...

acquired in 1959. It is a small, round music room that stands on a knoll overlooking the Bedford Basin. Madame de St

References

Destination Nova Scotia
Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia {{HalifaxNS-geo-stub

History

See also

References