Old Barns in Kensington Area

    I was driving through the countryside this morning around by Indian River and Kensington and took these photos of old barns.

Broadway Street, Kensington

     I was up in Kensington this morning and noticed some old homes being renovated on Broadway Street - great work!

62 Victoria St., Kensington - Demolished!

     Today was a good news / bad news day!  I had to run up to Kensington late this afternoon and to my horror this lovely house on Victoria Street had been demolished and the hole was being filled in with fresh shale.  I expect it was demolished to make way for the adjacent service station!  Too bad!!
     Here's a photo from Google Streetview...

Here's the aftermath photos!

     For more information about this house and others in Kensington, see the following:

Heritage Homes History, Property Ownership, Kensington

ISLAND NARRATIVES PROGRAM

Kensington, PEI Heritage Homes History of Property Ownership

KenNet Research Team Winter 2011 

This report contains over 250 ownership profiles of Kensington,

Prince Edward Island’s historic homes. 

Kensington Seniors Surfers Computer Club ©2011

http://137.149.200.109:8080/fedora/get/cap:2517/OBJ

Charming Churches Christmas Festival - brilliant!!

This article appeared on the Journal-Pioneer website today...

http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2015-11-06/article-4335000/Christmas-festival-breathes-new-life-into-P.E.I.-churches/1

Christmas festival breathes new life into P.E.I. churches

Desiree Anstey / Journal Pioneer / Published on November 06, 2015

© Google Street View / St. Mark's Anglican Church in Kensngton

Festival in Charming Churches is an all-new Christmas-themed storytelling and music event taking place in architecturally and acoustically remarkable churches over three weekends in late November and early December. “We intend to make this such a special event that we feel folks will travel from away to see and hear uplifting, as well as, poignant sights and sounds of the season,” said creator Ray Brow. “Shops, restaurants and accommodations on P.E.I. rarely get visitors in November but with the variety of shows and experimental events there should be something to draw persons of all ages...and the net benefit is an important cause.”  The not-for-profit fundraiser will feature 18 shows provincewide with the goal of contributing to the Syrian refugee crisis campaign, as well as, providing a measure of support for local churches.  “This is a way every Islander can do a small part in raising money for the Syrian refugees,” said Brow.  The idea was sparked from the award-winning Festival of Small Halls.  Historic St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Kensington is hosting a children’s show scheduled on December 6.  The event is associated with the ‘Festival in Charming Churches’ and will also coincide with a Santa Parade. singers, songwriters, fiddlers and storytellers back to their roots, in charming rural settings.  “After years of running the Festival of Small Halls I realized there were additional largely unknown community treasures across the Island that needed to be discovered just as the halls were back in 2008.”  Before the Festival in Charming Churches officially kicks off, associated events will pave the way.  Brow explained that Georgetown is leading the pack with a "Black Tie Affair" fundraiser - the first of its kind.  Georgetown Baptist congregation volunteers are acting as servers.  All the food, meal preparation and prizes have been donated by businesses and members of the surrounding community.  A talented storyteller or two will regale the crowd and fine music will enhance the evening,” he said.  The Black Tie Affair is scheduled on Nov. 21, at 6 p.m., and has three beneficiaries.  Tickets are $55 with the proceeds to be split between Playhouse, Destination Georgetown (volunteer community group working to better Georgetown’s future) and $5 of each ticket to the Syrian Refugee Relief.  Brow hopes the festival will grow into a new Christmas tradition and annually support a charitable cause, and provide a measure of support for Island churches.  “We want to bring more smiles to faces across the province second only to Santa’s Christmas Eve visit. However, the Christmas themed marketing will only be launched the day after Remembrance Day out of respect for our veterans.”

For more information on the event visit:

http://www.charmingchurches.org

James Mullally Blacksmith Shop, Kensington

     A few weeks ago I was in Kensington for the weekend, we took a walk to the Railroad Station and walked by this building - I didn't realize this was a blacksmith shop moved here - I thought it was a replica.
     The only thing I can find about James Mullally is that in 1930 he obtained the property at 8 Francis Street in Kensington.
     I will do further research.

Below is a better image from Flickr

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/islandstonepub/interesting/

Prince County Properties receive protected status

     This is really old new, Published on March 27, 2015 - cf.  Journal-Pioneer newspaper website by Colin MacLean: 

http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2015-03-27/article-4092552/Prince-County-properties-receive-protected-status/1

The Lyle House is an early example of Georgian classical architecture and used to be an inn/post office in Lot 16. Photo submitted by the Government of P.E.I.

* * * * * * * * *

SUMMERSIDE – At the same time the Lyle House was being built in Lot 16, the Battle of the Alamo was raging in Texas and Charles Darwin was forming his Theory of Evolution. 

Since its construction in 1836 the house has by times stood proudly as a hub of activity as an inn/post office and been humbled by the ravages of time as a shed/chicken coop.

It has endured and outlasted history itself and now it, along with four other Prince County buildings, is being protected for future generations to enjoy. 

The buildings have received ‘designated’ status under the Heritage Places Protection Act and have been added to the P.E.I. Registry of Historic Places.

Claude Arsenault, who purchased the house around 2005 and painstakingly restored and renovated it from a dilapidated state, is overjoyed with the designation.

“I’m thrilled, beyond thrilled,” said Arsenault.

“It’s an honour to live in this little house. It was built with a lot of love and care, it wasn’t slapped together in five minutes. The fact that it’s almost 200-years-old is a testament to the quality of the craftsmanship of these post and beam houses.”

Charlotte Stewart, a heritage officer with the provincial Department of Tourism and Culture, said all of these sites are unique in some way and are well worth protecting. 

“It’s great to have these added to the registry, they really are important parts of our history and shows that the owners are interested, and place value on the buildings and want to see them recognized,” said

The Prince County buildings include: the Emerald, Kensington and O’Leary railway stations, St. Anne’s Church in Lennox Island and the Lyle House in Birch Hill. The West River petroglyph site in Bonshaw, Queen’s County, was also listed.

The P.E.I. Heritage Places Protection Act sets out two levels of recognition for homes.

The first, ‘registration,’ is basically honourific, and just signifies that the property has some historic note.

A step above registration is ‘designation,’ which is a means to protect the historic nature of the property. It places restrictions on the property in terms of what the owner can change and forces them to apply for a permit before making changes to the structure.

Properties receive registration and designation on the P.E.I. Registry of Historic Places by nomination and are vetted by a provincial committee which then makes a recommendation to the minister of Tourism and Culture, who makes the final approval.

As for Arsenault, he’s happy to keep living in his now officially historic house, until it’s someone else’s turn to protect it. He takes a transient view of such things.

“I’m 66 years old and I’ve come to the realization that nobody truly owns anything … We’re all just custodians, we borrow things and are kind of in charge of things – for a while,” he said. 

About the buildings:

-       The O’Leary Railway Station was built in 1913/1914.

-       The Kensington Railway Station was built in 1905 and included P.E.I. stones in its construction.

-       The Emerald Railway Station was built in 1924 and most of the community sprang up around it.

-       St. Anne’s Church in Lennox Island is an 1895 Gothic structure, designed by Summerside architect George Baker, who also designed many of the city’s fox homes. 

Kensington this Christmas

     This modest early twentieth-century farmhouse is located on Route 2 in Kensington and decorated for the holidays.

     The house features a front/west facade of an angled bay window and square bay for the entry door along with a south facing side verandah to the right.

     Below:  the gable features a small single-hung, round-top window; eave trimming and banding;along with decorative-cut cedar shingles.  The house displays very nice detailing through-out.

Below: St. Mark's Anglican Church on Victoria Street East.  

     In 1885 construction was underway for this the second/ present St. Mark’s Anglican Church– replacing the first St. Mark’s, built in 1860.  The new church was built at a cost of $1,375.00.  It was first used for worship on August 29, 1887 and consecrated on June 9, 1888 by the Rt. Rev. Frederick Courtney.   The Church of England was the first denomination to build in Kensington.

     St. Mark’s Church is believed to be the only surviving example of a William Harris designed board-and-batten church in P.E.I. and one of three remaining board-and-batten Gothic revival style churches in the Maritime Provinces.  It narrowly escaped destruction on July 20, 1979 when a blow torch ignited insulation material when church repairs were underway – there was extensive damage to the steeple and smoke damage throughout the church – regular services resumed in the church later that fall.

     cf.  A History of the Pastoral Unit of New London and Springfield, Pg. 265

Below:  cf. http://islandstories.ca/island_stories_viewer/cap:1081/Kensington

     Below: Looking west down Victoria Street.  Note the Presbyterian Church on the left.

     Below: sketch by well-known Prince Edward Island / Canadian artist Robert Harris and brother of architect Wm. C. Harris.

Below: Kensington Presbyterian Church. Victoria Street East.

Below: Front facade - north facing.

1872 Mansard House, Kensington

I was in Kensington the other day and noticed this lovely 1872 mansard style house for sale. I took the following photos.  The 2-storey house features a mansard roof - flat on top; three dormers on front, 2 on each side cut into the eaveline; double brick chimneys; eave moulding; double-hung windows; and a narrow sunporch on the north side of the house.

Here's the listing information:  http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=11292144&PidKey=-1297688337
Built in 1872, A well maintained immaculate 4 Bedroom Heritage Home in the Heart of Kensington located 10 minutes from Summerside and within walking distance to Schools.  The house is located on a large treed lot with a 37x19 detached garage/storage building.  Home boasts 12' high ceilings on the main level, original mouldings, and douglas fir/birch floors, 5 slate fireplaces on both levels, air exchanger through-out and a cozy bright 30x6 front porch.