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Bideford Parsonage Museum

784 Bideford Road, Rte. 166, Ellerslie-Bideford, Prince Edward Island, C0B, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2009/07/21

Front elevation; Province of PEI, CStewart, 2015
Front elevation
T.H. Pope Residence; Meacham's Illustrated Historical Atlas of PEI, 1880
T.H. Pope Residence
Side elevation; Province of PEI, CStewart, 2015
Side elevation

Other Name(s)

Bideford Parsonage Museum
Bideford United Church Manse

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1878/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/07/23

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Bideford Parsonage Museum is a restored one-and-one-half storey Gothic Revival house located in the rural community of Bideford, PEI, on the North Cape Coastal Drive. It has well maintained lawns and several trees on the property. The designation includes the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

This former parsonage is valued for its well preserved Gothic Revival architectural style and for its historic association with the Island's famous author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. The house was constructed in 1878 by Thomas H. Pope, an accountant and telegraph operator. He later sold it to the Methodist Church in 1884 for use as a parsonage. After Church Union in 1925, it became the United Church Manse until it was sold in 1972.

Lucy Maud Montgomery boarded with the family of Rev. Estey at the house in 1894-95 while she was teaching in the nearby Bideford schoolhouse. In her 1917 book, The Alpine Path, she related the amusing story of the liniment cake incident which happened in this house.

In 2000, the home received a Millennium grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and was restored to its Victorian splendour. Today, it is operated as a local museum and features many artifacts and refurbished rooms, such as L.M. Montgomery's former bedroom which still overlooks the rural countryside.

Visit their website by clicking here.

Source: Heritage Places files, PEI Department of Education, Early Learning & Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4320-20/B1

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the house is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the one-and-one-half storey elevation
- the "L" shape formation of the house
- the steeply pitched roof with one wall dormer on the front elevation
- the brick chimneys
- the Gothic Revival style roof finials and pendant decorations on the eaves and window hood mouldings
- the bay window of the front elevation
- the Gothic Revival style bargeboards
- the wrap-around verandah on the front and side elevations

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Prince Edward Island

Recognition Authority

Province of Prince Edward Island

Recognition Statute

Heritage Places Protection Act

Recognition Type

Designated Historic Place

Recognition Date

2009/07/21

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design

Function - Category and Type

Current

Leisure
Historic or Interpretive Site

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Heritage Places files, PEI Department of Education, Early Learning & Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 File #: 4320-20/B1

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

4320-20/B1

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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