Prince's Lodge, Nova Scotia
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Prince's Lodge is a neighbourhood located on the shore of
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 th ...
, between the communities of Rockingham and
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, Canada within the
Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
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. The elder son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he is a grandson of George ...
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 Madame Alphonsine-Thérèse-Bernardine-Julie de Montgenêt de Saint-Laurent (30 September 1760 – 8 August 1830) was the wife of Baron de Fortisson, a colonel in the French service, and the mistress of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn ...
. 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 ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
. 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. 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 A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...
) less a foot bridge spanning over railway line, which the
Nova Scotia Government The Government of Nova Scotia (, ) is the government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The powers and structure of the province are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the c ...
acquired in 1959. It is a small, round music room that stands on a knoll overlooking the Bedford Basin.


See also

* Parks and recreation in the Halifax Regional Municipality Hemlock Ravine Park *
Royal eponyms in Canada In Canada, a number of sites and structures are named for royal individuals, whether a member of the past French royal family, British royal family, or present Canadian royal family thus reflecting the country's status as a constitutional mona ...


References


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