Beaconsfield, Quebec
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| Beaconsfiend, Quebec | |
| — City — | |
| City of Beaconsfield | |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Montréal |
| Founded | 1698 |
| Established | 1910 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Bob Benedetti |
| Area | |
| - Total | 11.01 km² (4.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - Total | 19,194 |
| - Density | 1,743.3/km² (4,515.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC−5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal code span | H9W |
| Area code(s) | (514) and (438) |
| Website: City of Beaconsfield | |
Beaconsfield (pronounced [biːkənsfiːld], 2006 Population 19,194) is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, located on the North shore of Lake Saint-Louis, and bordered on the West by Baie-D'Urfé, on the North by Kirkland and on the East by Pointe-Claire. It was incorporated in 1910. It is part of the region of Greater Montréal commonly referred to as the West Island.
With the amalgamation of the Island's 27 distinct municipalities on January 1, 2002, it was merged with neighbouring Baie-D'Urfé to create the Borough of Beaconsfield–Baie-D'Urfé, in the city of Montreal. On June 20, 2004 it voted to demerge and was re-established as a city on January 1, 2006.
The population of Beaconsfield is mostly English-speaking. Most buildings in Beaconsfield are single-family homes, with some townhouses and Montreal-style apartments and very few businesses, so that it may be characterized as a bedroom community. Beaconsfield is also home to a recreation centre that provides swimming, ice hockey, figure skating, karate and many other activities to the community.
A wooded area, Angell Woods, occupies much of western Beaconsfield, and is the subject of a campaign to preserve it permanently as a green space.
When Beaconsfield was still mostly farms a most interesting event took place. This event involved the purchase of two large tracts of land by the Drummond family, 200 acres South of the tracks and 300 acres North of the tracks. A large mansion style residence was built in 1895 on the southern property, and was called Bessarabia. In 1902 the Drummonds looked North of the tracks and built an even more grandiose mansion , called Huntlywood. This was a magnificent residence consisting of 32 rooms, extensive gardens with pools and elegant statues, fully rounded out by stables for prize cattle, coach houses, a large Gate Keeper residence and accommodation for the many workers involved. Truly a little bit of England transposed to far-off Canada. In 1912 Huntlywood was sold to Sir Montagu Allen and renamed Allencroft. The Allens never lived in their mansion due to tragedies resulting from World War1. The property was abandoned, fell into disuse and mysteriously burned in 1938. After the second World War the area was sold to developers and the entire estate became part of the bedroom community expansion. What was left of the once magnificent gardens, pools and statues disappeared. People living today in the area of Evergreen Drive probably do not know that they are on property once occupied by one of the most famous mansions built in West Island.
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[edit] Government
The current mayor of Beaconsfield is Bob Benedetti. The city is served by six councilors.
- James Hasegawa (District 1)
- Karen Messier (District 2)
- Wade Staddon (District 3)
- Kate Coulter (District 4)
- Roy Baird (District 5)
- David Pollock (District 6)
[edit] Demographics
| Language | Population | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| English | 10,155 | 53.27% |
| French | 5,130 | 26.91% |
| Both English and French | 260 | 1.36% |
| Other languages | 3,525 | 18.49% |
[edit] Sports and recreation
Beaconsfield maintains an indoor recreation complex which includes a swimming pool and hockey rink, as well as a network of outdoor parks with numerous soccer fields and ice rinks for hockey and skating in the winter.
Beaconsfield houses the Beaconsfield Bluefins, a competitive swim club that has trained athletes from the beginner to the national competition levels, in addition to the Lakeshore Panthers, who are usually among Quebec's top minor hockey league teams.
In 1975 the Beaconsfield Amateur Soccer Association boys Under 10 soccer team was the first soccer team from the province of Quebec to win a National Championship. They travelled from Montreal to Winnipeg to play the Championship game and won 3-1. As late as the mid-1980s the Match ball and poster of the team was on display in the Recreation center across from City I and City II soccer fields.
[edit] Transportation
Beaconsfield is served by the Agence métropolitaine de transport train system, with two stations, Beaconsfield and Beaurepaire, on the Dorion-Rigaud Line. It is bisected by Autoroute 20.
.JPG/120px-'01-'05_Chevrolet_Venture_LWB_(Beaconsfield_Public_Security).JPG){kind=tracking} Beaconsfield Public Security Chevrolet Venture minivan |
.JPG/120px-'03-'05_Chevrolet_Silverado_Single_Cab_(Beaconsfield).JPG){kind=tracking} Chevrolet Silverado regular cab from the City of Beaconsfield |
[edit] Notable residents
- Geoff Kelly, Member of Quebec National Assembly for Jacques-Cartier riding
- Thomas Mulcair, Member of Parliament, official NDP spokesperson for Quebec
- David Phillips, co-winner Canadian national squash championships
[edit] See also
- List of former boroughs of Montreal
- Montreal Merger
- Municipal reorganization in Quebec
- Beaconsfield High School (Beaconsfield)
[edit] External links
- Official site of Beaconsfield
- Beaconsfield Citizens Association
- Beaconsfield Yacht Club
- Lord Reading Yacht Club
- Association for the Protection of Angell Woods
- Beaconsfield discussion group
- City of Montreal
