Leaskdale Manse

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Leaskdale Manse
Presbytère de Leaskdale
Coordinates44°12′12″N 79°09′37″W / 44.2032°N 79.1604°W / 44.2032; -79.1604 (Leaskdale Manse)
AreaUxbridge, Ontario, Canada
Built1886
OwnerTownship of Uxbridge (1992–2013)
Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario (2013–present)
Designated1994

The Leaskdale Manse, located in Uxbridge, Ontario, was the home of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables series, and her husband Reverend Ewan Macdonald from 1911 to 1926. Montgomery wrote 11 of the 22 works published in her lifetime in the manse, as well as a series of journals that were published posthumously. The manse, constructed in 1886, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1994 and is now a historic house museum.

History[edit]

Lucy Maud Montgomery, circa 1920–1930

The manse was constructed in 1886, by carpenter William Gordon and bricklayer Valentine Brooks,[1] to serve as a residence for the pastor of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church.[2] In 1911, Montgomery and Macdonald, newly married, moved to the town of Leaskdale, Ontario (now part of Uxbridge). As Macdonald was the pastor of St. Paul's Church, they took up residence in the manse. In her journals, Montgomery wrote that she enjoyed the rural environment of Leaskdale, but complained of the house's "ugly" design and its lack of a bathroom and toilet.[3]: 4–5 

Montgomery's three children, Chester, Hugh and Stuart, were born in the Leaskdale Manse between 1912 and 1915.[4]: 101  Montgomery wrote 11 of the 22 works published in her lifetime in the manse,[2] and Rainbow Valley, one of the books in the Anne of Green Gables series which tells the story of a Presbyterian minister and his children, draws heavily on Montgomery's life in Leaskdale.[3]: 21–31  In her posthumously published journals, Montgomery wrote extensively of the manse and its surroundings.[2] A 2010 restoration project used Montgomery's writings about the house's architecture and furnishings as a reference.[3]: 278 

In 1926, the couple moved from Leaskdale to Norval, Ontario, when Macdonald became minister of two churches in Halton County.[3]: 4  When Montgomery left the manse, she wrote of "The beautiful woods behind Mr. Leask's, the leaf-hung corner of the side road, the lovely hill field beyond with the elms on their crest. I love these things and grieve to leave them".[3]: 53 

In 1965, the Ontario Historic Sites board commemorated the manse with a plaque.[5]: 93  The Leaskdale Manse was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1994 for its significance in Lucy Maud Montgomery's life.[2]

The Township of Uxbridge purchased the manse in 1992. In 2010, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario undertook a restoration project, and in 2013 they assumed ownership of the property.[3]: 278  The manse is now operated as a museum.[6]

Building[edit]

The manse is located at 11,909 Durham Regional Road 1, north of St. Paul's Church and south of Leaskdale Creek. It is a two-storey house with a T-shaped layout, typical of middle-class residences of the time. The exterior is yellow brick; it was covered with white stucco in the 1970s,[1] but the stucco was removed in 2001.[7] The roof is cross-gabled, and the manse has a wooden porch decorated with simple gingerbread-style bracketing. The interior layout of the house has been preserved.[2] Few original furnishings survive, as most were sold or donated by Montgomery's children, but the house contains some artifacts and letters from Montgomery's time in the manse.[3]: 278–9  In 2010, the manse received a large donation of antique furniture from Parks Canada.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "By-Law No. 93-29 of the Corporation of the Township of Uxbridge" (PDF). Ontario Heritage Trust. 22 March 1993. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Leaskdale Manse National Historic Site of Canada". Canadian Register of Historic Places. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lesley Diana Clement (2015). L.M. Montgomery's Rainbow Valleys: The Ontario Years, 1911–1942. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-4574-8.
  4. ^ Mollie Gillen (14 October 2015). The Wheel of Things: A Biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Formac Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-4595-0047-1.
  5. ^ Violet M. Holroyd (30 June 1991). "St. Paul's Presbyterian Church". Foundations of Faith: Historic Religious Buildings of Ontario. Dundurn. pp. 91–4. ISBN 978-1-4597-1378-9.
  6. ^ "Lucy Maud Montgomery/Leaskdale Manse Museum". The Township of Uxbridge. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. ^ "The Manse". Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  8. ^ Campbell, Don (15 September 2010). "Uxbridge's historic Leaskdale Manse gets thousands in antiques". Uxbridge Times-Journal. Uxbridge, Ontario: Torstar Syndication Services. ISSN 0834-7336. ProQuest 750887783. As part of a cost-cutting measure, Parks Canada is reducing storage and agreed to hand over the pieces for free to help furnish the manse. Kathy Wasylenky, president of the [Lucy Maud Montgomery] Society, said there is about $10,000 worth of antique furniture and artifacts and that "many of the items were perfect" for what is needed to maintain the historical integrity of the manse. – via ProQuest (subscription required)
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