New London is a Canadian rural community located in Queens County,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Situated in the township of Lot 21, halfway between

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and

Cavendish Cavendish may refer to: People * The House of Cavendish, a British aristocratic family * Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), British poet, philosopher, and scientist * Cavendish (author) (1831–1899), pen name of Henry Jones, English auth ...

, New London was formerly known as Clifton and previous to that, Graham's Corner. New London is primarily a farming and fishing community with its neatly manicured fields and gently rolling hills providing pastoral scenery surrounding a busy harbour. In recent decades tourism has played an increasingly important role in the community's economy.

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. Sh ...

, one of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's most famous authors, was born in New London on November 30, 1874. She wrote 23 books, including a short-story collection and a poetry anthology, but is best known for ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'', published in 1908.

History

Before the present New London village, there was a community called New London located at the mouth of Malpeque Bay, where the New London lighthouse is located at the end of Cape Road (close to French River). This community was settled by

Robert Clark Robert, Bob, or Bobby Clark may refer to: Television and film *Robert Clark (actor) (born 1987), American-born Canadian television actor *Bob Clark (1939–2007), Canadian filmmaker *Bob Clark (television reporter) (1922–2015), American televisi ...

, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

merchant who owned Lot 21. He arrived in 1773 with grand plans to build a settlement to rival his native

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. One of Clark's early settlers was

Benjamin Chappell Benjamin Chappell (March 5, 1740 – January 6, 1825) was a machinist and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1774 to 1784. He was born in London, the son of Richar ...

, one of the founders of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

faith on the island, who came to New London aboard the sailing ship ''The Snow Elizabeth'' in 1774. Chappell wrote a diary of his experiences, and described his first, harsh New London winter as being "... very short of provisions. No rum, no bread, no meat, no beer, no sugar and half an ox", and (on March 1), wrote that "the people in general through the want of bread seem to decline in their work." The present New London (previously called New London South, then Clifton and before that, Graham's Corner) was settled by Scottish immigrants before 1859. {{cite web , url=https://www.tourismpei.com/Green-Gables-Shore/New-London , title = Discover & Explore Green Gables Shore PEI {{! Tourism PEI

References

Communities in Queens County, Prince Edward Island