Heart Of The Estate

 A look at the main house at Moorside. Aside from the present, a good portion of the house is open for visits. Mackenzie King made this place into another home. He lived at Laurier House in the city, willed to him by the widow of his predecessor as leader of the Liberal Party- Wilfrid Laurier- and that house is similarly also open to visitors as a national historic site.

It was here that King entertained the great and the good, including the Churchills and Roosevelts, particularly as the world went back to war.

King had a distinct interest in collecting pieces of old architecture, some from the old world and some from the new. He would incorporate some into what were called follys, and others would be found here and there on the estate, like this regal lion.

During his time here, King's interest in gardening took him in new directions, both as a work obligation and for pleasure.

Gardening applies to around the house, but also to formal gardens that run down the slope towards the woods.

This panel looks at two of his follys.

While this looks at the layout of the two formal gardens- the French and the English garden.

There was a wedding party here while I was visiting, having photos taken.

A look back through the French garden at the house.

And down slope at the English garden. We'll carry on here tomorrow.

Moorside Meadow

 More looks today at Kingsmere Lake.

I headed up the slope back towards the cottages at Kingswood. I glanced back down for one last look at the lake.

I was heading towards Moorside, where Mackenzie King built a true home.

Another quote from his journals was found here.

This path leads to the large meadow running in front of Moorside. As King rose to power, it became obvious that cottages were insufficient for entertaining the sort of visitors he might get as a prime minister to his summer retreat. Moorside became the answer. He would grow crops and gardens here, and his ideas for landscapes and the country would develop here.

The meadow is particularly picturesque in fall, surrounded by changing colours.

I took a panoramic shot from here.

Zooming in on the house, I was surprised to find it cordoned off. Work is being done on it, and so the building itself was closed for visits.

Along The Shore

 There is a pump house down here near the shore of Kingsmere Lake.

The lake is particularly lovely in the autumn. Gatineau Park has cottages, including on the far shore, grandfathered in after the establishment of the federal park, but not that many of them.

I headed towards the lake house.

Along the way I photographed up slope to where the cottages are, through the green turning to gold.

Here by the lake house, another look at the lake.

A place to change for swimming, or to store a canoe or two. King enjoyed his time at this lake, and being social, would invite his guests for a swim or time on the waters.

Divine Unrest

 Another look at the room of Isabel Mackenzie King.

Between 1915 and 1922, King sustained a number of personal losses. His sister Bella, parents, and brother Max died. The deaths would stay with him for the rest of his life, leaving him in a state of melancholy.

The fine dishes can be found here in a cabinet in the parlour.

The living room in the cottage doubled as a study. When King was inside, he would usually be found here. Long summers outside the city regardless, he was a cabinet minister and then a prime minister, and there was work that had to be done.

This space particularly appeals to me. It feels very much like a home.

His parents lived long enough to see him succeed, as a lawyer and then as a politician. They would not live to see him become the prime minister, and his great accomplishments still were ahead of him after they passed on, but needless to say, they were proud of him.

Of the losses in his life, the one he felt deepest was the death of his mother.

It was time to head down to Kingsmere Lake, which lies down among the trees, its waters just visible.