Description of Historic Place

The Bayfield - Jaynes Property is a provincially designated 1.5 hectare property which includes a two storey Late Regency style home built circa 1867 located in the Keppoch area of Stratford overlooking the Hillsborough Bay.

Heritage Value

The Bayfield - Jaynes Property is valued for its Late Regency style home, its surrounding park-like grounds, and for the historical associations with the Bayfield and Jaynes families. The property is also valued for the uninterrupted views of the Hillsborough Bay from the home, and view of the home from the Hillsborough Bay.

It is believed the Bayfield-Jaynes home was built approximately 1867 for Admiral Henry Wolseley Bayfield (1795-1875) and family after Bayfield purchased the land in October 1866. The 1.5 hectare parcel was purchased from Henrietta (Hetty) Walsh Barker (d. 1880) widow of Robert Barker (d. 1861). Hetty Barker was the sister of merchant, shipbuilder and politician William Walsh (1822-1905) who owned the nearby former Duncan House/Keppoch Beach Hotel. The Walsh family and or its employees may have constructed the Bayfield - Jaynes home as there are many architectural similarities. Admiral Henry Wolseley Bayfield, his wife, Fanny Amelia Wright, an accomplished painter and instructor, and their family occupied the home as a summer residence. Bayfield has been recognized for his significant achievements in surveying and charting the coastal waters of eastern Canada including the 1827-1856 surveys of the Gulf and River of the Saint Lawrence which was designated a national historic event in 1935. Upon Admiral Bayfield's death the property then known as "Redcliffe" was advertised for sale but wasn't purchased until 1885 when the Robertson family of Charlottetown acquired it. In 1908, Charles P. Larned, a Detroit attorney and his wife bought the property and after ten years sold it to Rev. Julian C. Jaynes and his wife Clara Bullard Jaynes of Massachusetts. The Jaynes family including Dr. Julian Jaynes, his brother Robert Jaynes and his wife Mildred (Millie) summered here annually until the 1990s. Dr. Julian Jaynes was a popular professor of psychology at Princeton University from 1966-1990 and a respected author. Upon Dr. Jaynes' death in 1996, the property was deeded to the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation.

The Bayfield-Jaynes home is an example of a large summer home for an affluent family which has retained most of its original architectural features. The parcel of land has remained intact contributing to the historical significance of this property.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8, File #: 4320-20/B2

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements embody the heritage value of the property:

Bayfield - Jaynes House:

- the exterior wood features including the siding, trim, eave returns, wrap-around verandah with its ornate treillage, window and door surrounds, window shutters
- the material (wood), size, shape and placement of the windows and doors
- the four metre high stained glass window
- the form, pitch, shape and size of the roof
- the placement of the chimneys

The property:

- the location of the Bayfield-Jaynes residence on the property
- the uninterrupted viewscape from the Bayfield-Jaynes residence of the property's grounds and of the Hillsborough Bay
- the unhindered view of the Bayfield-Jaynes property from the Hillsborough Bay which has served as a landmark for mariners for generations
- the park-like grounds with its trees, vegetation and access to the beach