Earnscliffe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Earnscliffe is a Victorian manor in Ottawa, Ontario. It is currently home of the British High Commissioner to Canada, and it was previously home to Canada's first Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. The manor overlooks the Ottawa River just east of the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge. It is located just to the northwest of Sussex Drive 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, but since it is a diplomatic residence, it is closed to visitors.
The manor was built by Thomas McKay company for his son-in-law John McKinnon in 1855. McKinnon died suddenly in 1866 and the house was purchased by another of McKay's son-in-laws, Thomas Keefer. Two years later he sold it to railroad developer Thomas Reynolds. Reynolds resided there for several years, and it was during this period that it got the name "Earnscliffe," an archaic term for "eagle's cliff."
Reynolds died in 1879, and in 1883 his son sold the house to John A. Macdonald. Macdonald had earlier stayed with Reynolds, and there are some stories that he gave it its name. In 1888 Macdonald made several additions to the structure. In 1891 Macdonald fell ill, and he died in his room in Earnscliffe. His widow, Agnes Macdonald briefly continued to reside in the manor after his death, and Queen Victoria made her Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe. Soon, however, Agnes 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.
In 1930, William Clark, the first British High Commissioner to Canada, arranged to buy the house for the British government. It has been the home of the High Commissioner ever since.
