Lady Meredith House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lady Meredith House |
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| Former names | Ardvarna |
| Alternative names | H. Vincent Meredith Residence |
| General information | |
| Type | Mansion (now offices) |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne Revival |
| Location | Golden Square Mile |
| Address | 1110 Pine Avenue West Montreal, Quebec |
| Construction started | 1894 |
| Completed | 1897 |
| Client | Vincent and Brenda Meredith |
| Owner | The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (McGill University) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 1,253 m2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Edward Maxwell |
| Official name: H. Vincent Meredith Residence National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated: | 1990 |
Lady Meredith House, also known as the H. Vincent Meredith Residence, is a historic mansion in Montreal, Quebec. It is located at 1110 Pine Avenue West, right on the corner of Peel Street. This area is known as the Golden Square Mile. The house was first called Ardvarna. Today, McGill University owns it. On November 16, 1990, it was named a National Historic Site of Canada. This means it is a very important building in Canadian history.
History of Lady Meredith House
The land where Lady Meredith House stands was once part of a large estate. This estate belonged to Simon McTavish in the Golden Square Mile area. In 1860, his family divided the land into smaller plots and sold them.
A shipowner named Andrew Allan bought one of these plots. It was just south of a big piece of land bought by his brother, Sir Hugh Allan. Sir Hugh built a famous mansion called Ravenscrag there in 1863. Andrew Allan used the same architects as his brother. He built his own large stone house, Iononteh, which was finished in 1865. This house was a major landmark on Upper Peel Street, but it has since been taken down.
In 1888, Andrew Allan gave a piece of his land to his youngest daughter, Isabella Brenda Allan. This was a gift for her marriage to Vincent Meredith. Vincent Meredith later became the first Canadian-born president of the Bank of Montreal. In 1916, he was given the title of the 1st Baronet of Montreal. A Baronet is a special title of honor, like a knight, that can be passed down in a family. Vincent's brother, Charles, lived right next door. Their cousin, Frederick Meredith, also lived nearby on Pine Avenue.
After they got married, the Merediths first lived on Sherbrooke Street. In 1894, they asked the architect Edward Maxwell to design a new house for them. This house would be built on the land Isabella's father had given them. Their new home, which they named Ardvarna, was finished in 1897.
In 1941, Lady Meredith gave the house and its land to the Royal Victoria Hospital. They used it as a place for nurses to live. McGill University bought the house in 1975. For several years, the hospital and university shared the building. In 1990, the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics, and Law moved into the house. After an incident in January 1990, the house was fully renovated by architects Gersovitz, Becker, and Moss.
Architecture and Design
Lady Meredith House is a great example of Queen Anne Revival-style architecture. It also has some features that look like Richardsonian Romanesque style. The beautiful garden around the house was designed by famous landscape architects Olmsted & Eliot.
In 1914, a large new section was added to the west side of the house. The Maxwell brothers, who designed the original house, also completed this addition. The property also had a coach house (a building for horse-drawn carriages), which was south of the main house. It was built in the same style and color.
Originally, the grounds had three levels of terraces. There were also rosebeds, perennial flowers, climbing vines, and a kitchen garden. Today, these beautiful gardens have been replaced by a car park. The old wrought iron gate, which looked like gates from Georgian Dublin, is also gone. The two open-air verandas at the back of the house used to offer amazing views of Montreal and the St. Lawrence River. They also looked out onto the Green Mountains of Vermont. These verandas were enclosed with windows sometime after 1941.
In 1987, Francois Remillard described the house in his book Mansions of the Golden Square Mile, Montreal 1850-1930: This is one of Edward Maxwell's most successful designs. It was built in 1894, and designed in Richardsonian Romanesque. However, if you look closely at its facade (the front of the building), you'll see many different architectural influences. This makes it a wonderful example of Victorian eclecticism (mixing different styles). With its towers, unique windows, and tall chimneys, Lady Meredith House fits perfectly with the dramatic slopes of Mount Royal. It is covered in brick, sandstone, granite, and terra cotta, all in red colors. The brickwork is excellent and can be seen on all four sides of the house. Such detailed craftsmanship would be almost impossible to create today.
Lady Meredith Annex
The Coach House, which was once used for carriages, is now called the Lady Meredith Annex. This building is home to McGill University's Wellness Office. This office helps medical students and doctors in training at McGill's Faculty of Medicine.
A part of this building is also rented by the Medical Students Society of McGill University. They use this space for club meetings, conferences, classes, and other fun activities outside of school.
Gallery
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As seen from the perimeter of Ravenscrag
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As seen from the top of Peel Street
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As seen from Purvis Hall
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Rear view
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The Coach House (front)
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The Coach House (rear)
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As seen from Pine Avenue in 1909
