Description of Historic Place

The Mackay House at Glenroy Farm is a two-storey vernacular "Island Ell" farmhouse clad with wood shingles located in the rural landscape of New London, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

The Mackay House at Glenroy Farm was built around 1848 for Hugh McKay (d. circa 1861), his wife Elizabeth Morrison (1784-1882) and their family. The McKays came from Scotland along with their two eldest children in 1826. Hugh's son, George B. McKay and wife Janet, inherited the property and enlarged the house to accommodate their growing family. Two of McKay's sisters also lived here. The house we see today is likely a mid-Victorian expansion and has been passed down through the generations of the McKay family.

Both George and his son Hugh were involved in the early PEI judicial system. George Bain McKay (1826-1906) served as a Justice of the Peace, was Deputy Sheriff for Queen's County, and served as Clerk for the County Court in Clifton under Judges Palmer and Alley. Clifton was later renamed New London. The County Court House building is now known as the New London Hall. Well known in his community, George McKay belonged to the Masonic Fraternity, and was a member of Presbyterian Church. Following his death, the house passed to his son Hugh Bain McKay (1860-1939) who continued to farm the 100-acre property. Involved with the local school as its secretary, Hugh B. succeeded his father as Justice of the Peace and Clerk of the County Court. McKay married Ada McEwen and they raised seven children here. The McKays were well known for raising fine horses along with a mixed farming operation. The property includes a well-preserved circa 1920s gambrel barn and smaller one-storey barn.

The home is in excellent condition. The main body of the house dates from 1848. The house was enlarged in the 1880s with an addition to the east elevation and a verandah. In the 1970s a sunporch was built on the west elevation, and in the late 1980s a north wing was added.

Hon. Kenneth C. Mackay (1920-2014), a retired justice of the Quebec Superior Court -- no close relation to the McKays from whom he acquired the property -- named the property Glenroy Farm and had the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation bronze architectural plaque installed, recognizing the "Mackay House, 1848". Mackay's father, Dr. Frederick H. Mackay, was a native of Summerfield, PEI. The property continues to remain with the Mackay family and is an important asset to its community.

Source: Heritage Places files, PEI Department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File # : 4310-20/M50

Character-Defining Elements

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

- the overall massing of the house
- the steeply pitched gabled roof of the main section of the house, with saltbox slope to its rear
- the ell section's slightly lower roofline
- the wood shingle cladding
- the wide fascia and corner boards
- the size and placement of the window openings
- the plain hood mouldings of the rear first storey windows
- the ornate hood mouldings of the front elevation windows
- the arched double window in the centre gable, with ornate hood mouldings with medallions and half finial trim on the endpoints
- the two 1880s century brick chimneys
- the 1880s open verandah with large, turned posts with decorative gingerbread scrolls
- the dormer with arched window on the front elevation
- the two clipped or snub-nose dormers on the rear elevation