Description of Historic Place

The Liberal Rock is a large granite rock located on Peddle’s Lane in New Perlican, NL. The designation is confined to the footprint of the landscape feature known as The Liberal Rock.

Heritage Value

The Liberal Rock has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of New Perlican because of its aesthetic and cultural value.

The Liberal Rock has aesthetic value as it is a prominent landmark in the community. It is a well-known landscape feature along Peddle’s Lane, which leads from the main road running through New Perlican, continuing along the harbour side and ending in a footpath that leads to St. Matthew's United Church Southside Cemetery, which is also a municipal heritage site. Overlooking the waters of New Perlican Harbour, this natural rock formation is a special landscape feature in this section of the community.

The Liberal Rock has cultural value for generations of New Perlican residents who have a shared recollection of its cultural use. Tradition has it that Clifford Peddle, who once lived next door to The Liberal Rock, gave the rock its name. The rock was a daily meeting place for men in the community. They would gather here to discuss the news of the day, including the fishery and politics. Much of the talk was sparked by topics covered on the Gerald S. Doyle News Bulletin, a radio show that was broadcasted from the early 1930s to the mid 1960s. The news presented on the Bulletin was a topic of conversation and it was repeated and analyzed by the men who gathered around the rock. This would have been particularly so in the days before the town had electricity and battery operated radios provided a connection to the rest of the province. It has been said that so many men gathered here that it often seemed as though the rock was on fire as smoke from their cigarettes and pipes rose above it. While The Liberal Rock is no longer a communal gathering place, memories of its past use have become a part of the community’s heritage.

Source: Town of New Perlican Regular Council Meeting Motion #2012-45 July 24, 2012.

Character-Defining Elements

All those elements which represent the aesthetic and cultural value of The Liberal Rock, including:
-location, orientation and dimensions of The Liberal Rock;
-natural granite material;
-unobstructed view of The Liberal Rock from Peddle’s Road and the harbour side, and;
-continued public access to The Liberal Rock.