Gardens, A Grand Piano, And A Model

Leaving the room where I left off in yesterday's post, the tour took us into a spacious sitting area which is off the Tent Room, giving a view of the grounds that is beyond public access. This garden area is part of the private area of the property. 

The doors to the right in this area can be opened during receptions so that people in the Tent Room can come in to sit down. At the far end is a grand piano, a gift from the estate of the great Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould.

The next room takes us right into the space that still marks the original heart of the manor. When Thomas McKay first settled here with his sizable family, they built the original manor. This large space represents the size of that building (with modifications and opening up of the space), which was large in its time, but also home to around a dozen and a half people for years. It is dwarfed today by the many additions that have been added on. The large room contains art, as well as a model of Rideau Hall at its center, which can actually be dismantled as a demonstration of how much has been added on in nearly a century and a half since Rideau Hall came to be home to the Governor General.