The Mill And The River

The La Peche River flows out of Gatineau Park and down to join the Gatineau River a short distance from this spot. The village of Wakefield is at that confluence, founded in 1830 by a mix of immigrants from the British isles. Still largely Anglophone in a province that is Francophone, Wakefield is a place that has a laid back reputation, home to artists and creative souls. It's one of the special places in this area. We came up this way after leaving the church in my last post.

Just upstream is the Wakefield Mill Hotel and Spa. First erected as the Maclaren Mill in 1838 and expanded upon from there, it has been in more recent years fully restored and turned into a country inn, still overlooking the rushing waters of the river. The inn maintains the old mill and a couple of nearby buildings as their operations at this site.

Here we have a view from the car going over the bridge. We were heading to a nearby spot, which I'll show you tomorrow.

Coming back, we stopped to take more shots of the mill and the river.

A Parish In The Country

Coming out of Gatineau Park and heading to our next destination, our route led through the village of Chelsea, which is the local seat for the region of Les Collines-des-l'Outaouais. St. Stephen's Catholic Church is a landmark one sees coming, and we stopped here. The parish was founded first as a mission in 1840, then formally established as a parish in 1845. It offers mass in French and English, reflecting the bilingual nature of the area and its parish history. The present stone church dates to the 1880s, in a Roman Baroque style.

The bilingual history of the parish reflects itself in the adjoining cemetery, where French names are mingled with Irish names. Irish immigrants were coming into the Ottawa Valley throughout the 19th century, settling on both sides of the river, and their legacy continues today.

Here we have an example of new life- a young tree is springing up from the stump of an old tree in this cemetery.

I leave off with this view of the church's main entrance. The doors were locked, otherwise we'd have taken a look inside.

Viewpoint Of The Estate

Aside from being a great prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King was quite a character, and creating these ruins on his land would have spoken to that. A Scots Presbyterian who had a fascination with spiritualism, King's gift to the country is a welcome place to visit. Here we have some more shots from around the Abbey. It's an inspiring spot- I have a passage stashed away where I've written a couple of very bad people taking another bad person up from the lake, along the path, and here to the abbey... and having him meet a bad end late in the night. Something that will at some point turn up in a book.

We started back towards Moorside.

Along the way there were more bits and pieces of old stonework, likely from the first Centre Block that he would have acquired, resting in various spots.

A different perspective of Moorside here, along with the outlying structure that is the carriage house and garage.

The path led to this spot. Moorside was off to the left, while the parking lot was down the path to the right.

Here we have a front view of the carriage house and garage.

And I leave off with two final views of Moorside. Tomorrow we'll be looking at another spot in the Gatineau Hills.

An Arch And Abbey Ruin

Picking up generally where we left off yesterday, here we have views looking up the slope towards Moorside on the Mackenzie King Estate.

Here we have another folly. The Arc de Triomphe comes from the same building, the British North American Bank Note Company, that was demolished in 1936 and from which King took the pieces for his Window On The Forest. The arch, now set against the backdrop of the woods, is a nod to his interest in classical architecture and a symbol of his return to the prime minister's job with his 1935 victory.

The path led on. This sign was along the way, reading, 'let no word or thought enter there which was not the holiest and best.'

It refers to this place, the Abbey, a ruin created by King starting in 1935. It is constructed from the stones of various sources- the original Centre Block after it was destroyed by fire, the Batson House in Ottawa when it was being demolished, a crest of a British Speaker of the House of Commons at Westminster, and even stones from the printing office owned by his maternal grandfather, William Lyon Mackenzie. Together they form a marvelous folly that very much feels like the ruins of an abbey you might find in Europe. They're a delight to the visitor.