Duke of Kent House, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Duke of Kent House or Kent House is situated on Rue Saint-Louis, behind the Château Frontenac
in Quebec City
. It is presently serves as the French Consulate. Though vastly altered and transformed since its original construction, the most part of its foundations and of the first floor walls date back to the vicinity of 1650, making it one of the oldest houses, if not the oldest house in Quebec City
.
, Governor of New France
from 1648 to 1651, and his wife, Marie-Barbe de Boulogne. Shortly after 1650, they had a house built on this site. Following the death of the governor's wife in 1665, at Quebec
, her property and house on Saint-Louis Street passed to the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
.
On May 27, 1671, the Ladies of the Hôtel-Dieu sold the property to Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière
, Lieutenant-General of the Civil and Criminal Courts at Quebec, who at once took up residence there. In 1679, he left for his mother country, never to return to New France
. His son, René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière
, who had succeeded his father in his legal positions, inherited the house and lived there until his death on June 4, 1709. All of his children were born there, including Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière
, the first Canadian Dean of the Chapter of Quebec.
The Lotbinière house and dependencies were sold by voluntary decree for £10,000 and purchased on March 14, 1713, by Jean-Baptiste Maillou, architect
and contractor to the King of France at Quebec. On his death in 1743, the house was inherited by his son, Vital Maillou, who did not live in it but leased it to Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière
, the son of the previously mentioned Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière
.
On June 1, 1758, the house was bought by Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas-Roch de Ramezay who had grown up at Château Ramezay
in Montreal
and had just been promoted King's Lieutenant at Quebec. Following the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
, it was de Ramezay who signed the Articles of Capitulation of Quebec
, and there are grounds to believe that they were signed at the house.
merchant James Strachan, acting for himself and for the London house of Greenwood & Higginson. On October 24, 1777, The Hon. Adam Mabane
, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
, became the proprietor.
, in August, 1791, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn arrived in Quebec City
and shortly afterwards leased Judge Mabane's house for £90 per annum. He occupied the house for three years with his beautiful mistress, Madame de Saint Laurent. In his memoirs, Pierre-Ignace Aubert de Gaspé
(father of the author of Les Anciens Canadiens), speaks several times of dinners given by the Duke of Kent in his fine residence on Saint-Louis Street. He happily remained there until posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1794.
The Duke's mistress with whom he shared his house in Quebec was Madame Alphonsine Therese Bernadine Julie de Montgenet de St. Laurent, Baronne de Fortisson. They first met in Martinique
, and she accompanied him to Quebec
, and afterwards to Nova Scotia
and to England
. For twenty-eight years she presided over his household, as a local chronicler records, " with dignity and propriety." After the Duke's marriage to the widow of the Prince of Leiningen
, in 1818, Madame de St. Laurent retired to a convent, and the date of her demise is unknown. Her first husband was the Baron de Fortisson, a colonel in the French service. She is described as having been beautiful, clever, witty and accomplished. Many of her letters will be found in Anderson's " Life of the Duke of Kent " (Quebec: 1870). In 1792, she stood sponsor,
with the Duke, at the christening of one of the de Salaberry children, at Beauport. It was claimed by several writers that the Baroness was morganatically allied to the Duke of Kent.
, a member of His Majesty's Executive Council. The owners then proceeded as follows: Pierre Brehaut
(1816); The Hon. Judge Olivier Perrault
(1819), and then Pearrualt's son-in-law, The Hon. Elzéar-Henri Juchereau Duchesnay
; John Jones; Mrs Alexandre Lindsay; O'Neil, the hotelkeeper; The Hon. Thomas McGreevy
; The Hon. Jean-Thomas Taschereau (jurist)
etc., etc. In 1927, it was owned by the brothers William Evan Price
and David Edward Price
of Quebec. The house today serves as the French Consulate at Quebec.
Château Frontenac
The Château Frontenac, currently known as Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, is a grand hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980...
in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. It is presently serves as the French Consulate. Though vastly altered and transformed since its original construction, the most part of its foundations and of the first floor walls date back to the vicinity of 1650, making it one of the oldest houses, if not the oldest house in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
.
Occupants during the French regime
The first owners of the land on which Kent House stands were Louis d'Ailleboust de CoulongeLouis d'Ailleboust de Coulonge
Louis d'Ailleboust de Coulonge was the French governor of New France from 1648 to 1651 and acting governor from 1657 to 1658.- Biography :...
, Governor of New France
Governor of New France
The Governor of New France was the viceroy of the King of France in North America. A French noble, he was appointed to govern the colonies of New France, which included Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. The residence of the Governor was at the Château St-Louis in the capital of Quebec City...
from 1648 to 1651, and his wife, Marie-Barbe de Boulogne. Shortly after 1650, they had a house built on this site. Following the death of the governor's wife in 1665, at Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, her property and house on Saint-Louis Street passed to the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
The Hotel-Dieu de Québec is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and affiliated with Université Laval's medical school. It is part of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec , a network of three teaching hospitals and several specialized institutions. Its areas of...
.
On May 27, 1671, the Ladies of the Hôtel-Dieu sold the property to Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière
Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière
Louis-Théandre Chartier de Lotbinière , considered by some sources to have been the 'Father of the Canadian Magistrature', he was the disreputable Lieutenant-General of the Provost's Court of New France...
, Lieutenant-General of the Civil and Criminal Courts at Quebec, who at once took up residence there. In 1679, he left for his mother country, never to return to New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. His son, René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière
René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière
René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière was a French-Canadian Poet, 1st Seigneur de Lotbinière in New France , Judge of the Provost and Admiralty Courts and Chief Councillor of the Sovereign Council of New France.-Birth:...
, who had succeeded his father in his legal positions, inherited the house and lived there until his death on June 4, 1709. All of his children were born there, including Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière
Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière
Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière , Seigneur de Lotbinière, Councillor of the Sovereign Council of New France and Keeper of the Seals of New France; Vicar-General, Archdeacon and the first Canadian Dean of Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral.-Birth:...
, the first Canadian Dean of the Chapter of Quebec.
The Lotbinière house and dependencies were sold by voluntary decree for £10,000 and purchased on March 14, 1713, by Jean-Baptiste Maillou, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and contractor to the King of France at Quebec. On his death in 1743, the house was inherited by his son, Vital Maillou, who did not live in it but leased it to Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière
Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière
Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, 1st Marquis de Lotbinière , Seigneur of Vaudreuil, Lotbinière and Rigaud, Quebec etc. On his advice, the Marquis de Montcalm successfully attacked Fort William Henry in 1757...
, the son of the previously mentioned Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière
Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière
Eustache Chartier de Lotbinière , Seigneur de Lotbinière, Councillor of the Sovereign Council of New France and Keeper of the Seals of New France; Vicar-General, Archdeacon and the first Canadian Dean of Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral.-Birth:...
.
On June 1, 1758, the house was bought by Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas-Roch de Ramezay who had grown up at Château Ramezay
Château Ramezay
The Château Ramezay is a museum and historic building on Notre-Dame Street in Old Montreal, opposite Montreal City Hall.Built in 1705 as the residence of then-governor of Montreal, Claude de Ramezay, the Château was the first building proclaimed as a historical monument in Quebec and is the...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and had just been promoted King's Lieutenant at Quebec. Following the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
, it was de Ramezay who signed the Articles of Capitulation of Quebec
Articles of Capitulation of Quebec
The Articles of Capitulation of Quebec were agreed upon between Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas-Roch de Ramezay, King's Lieutenant, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, and General George Townshend on behalf the French and British crowns during the Seven Years' War...
, and there are grounds to believe that they were signed at the house.
Ownership following the capitulation of New France
Following the British Conquest, the house passed through many hands. On August 23, 1763, Madame de Ramezay, under authority given by her husband, sold the house to John Bondfield, merchant of Quebec. One year later, August 4, 1764, he sold it to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
merchant James Strachan, acting for himself and for the London house of Greenwood & Higginson. On October 24, 1777, The Hon. Adam Mabane
Adam Mabane
Adam Mabane was a physician, judge and political figure in the early Province of Quebec.He was born in Scotland around 1734. He was a surgeon's assistant in the British army led by Amherst and came to Quebec in 1760. Mabane served at the military hospital in the town of Quebec and also set up in...
, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
Court of Common Pleas
Court of Common Pleas may refer to several different courts:England and Wales and Ireland:* Court of Common Pleas * Court of Common Pleas...
, became the proprietor.
Residence to the Duke of Kent
On the formation of Lower CanadaLower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, in August, 1791, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn arrived in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and shortly afterwards leased Judge Mabane's house for £90 per annum. He occupied the house for three years with his beautiful mistress, Madame de Saint Laurent. In his memoirs, Pierre-Ignace Aubert de Gaspé
Pierre-Ignace Aubert de Gaspé
Pierre-Ignace Aubert de Gaspé was a seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Quebec City in 1758, the son of Ignace-Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Québec. He helped defend the province against the invasion by the Americans in 1775-6...
(father of the author of Les Anciens Canadiens), speaks several times of dinners given by the Duke of Kent in his fine residence on Saint-Louis Street. He happily remained there until posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1794.
The Duke's mistress with whom he shared his house in Quebec was Madame Alphonsine Therese Bernadine Julie de Montgenet de St. Laurent, Baronne de Fortisson. They first met in Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, and she accompanied him to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and afterwards to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. For twenty-eight years she presided over his household, as a local chronicler records, " with dignity and propriety." After the Duke's marriage to the widow of the Prince of Leiningen
Prince of Leiningen
The title of Prince of Leiningen was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who elevated Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg to the rank of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire on 3 July 1779...
, in 1818, Madame de St. Laurent retired to a convent, and the date of her demise is unknown. Her first husband was the Baron de Fortisson, a colonel in the French service. She is described as having been beautiful, clever, witty and accomplished. Many of her letters will be found in Anderson's " Life of the Duke of Kent " (Quebec: 1870). In 1792, she stood sponsor,
with the Duke, at the christening of one of the de Salaberry children, at Beauport. It was claimed by several writers that the Baroness was morganatically allied to the Duke of Kent.
Occupants in the 19th and 20th centuries
Following the Duke's departure, the house changed owners and tenants many more times. After Judge Mabane's death, the house was inherited by his sister, Isabella Mabane, who leased it to Bishop Jacob Mountain from 1802. She sold it in 1809 to The Hon. John CraigieJohn Craigie
John Craigie was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Scotland, probably in 1757, and came to Quebec in 1781 as deputy commissary general for the British Army there. Craigie was named commissary general in 1784. The following year, he became private secretary to...
, a member of His Majesty's Executive Council. The owners then proceeded as follows: Pierre Brehaut
Pierre Brehaut
Pierre Brehaut was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Quebec County in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1814 to 1817. He was also known as Peter Brehaut....
(1816); The Hon. Judge Olivier Perrault
Olivier Perrault
Olivier Perrault was a seigneur, lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. He was also sometimes known as Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Perrault....
(1819), and then Pearrualt's son-in-law, The Hon. Elzéar-Henri Juchereau Duchesnay
Elzéar-Henri Juchereau Duchesnay
Elzéar-Henri Juchereau Duchesnay was a seigneur, lawyer and political figure in Canada East. He also served in the Senate of Canada from 1867 until his death....
; John Jones; Mrs Alexandre Lindsay; O'Neil, the hotelkeeper; The Hon. Thomas McGreevy
Thomas McGreevy
Thomas McGreevy was a Canadian politician and contractor.Born in Quebec, he was the son of Robert McGreevy, a blacksmith, and Rose Smith...
; The Hon. Jean-Thomas Taschereau (jurist)
Jean-Thomas Taschereau (jurist)
Jean-Thomas Taschereau was a Canadian lawyer and judge.Born in Quebec City, Lower Canada , the son of...
etc., etc. In 1927, it was owned by the brothers William Evan Price
William Evan Price
William Evan Price was a Quebec businessman and political figure. He was a Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons representing Chicoutimi—Saguenay from 1872 to 1874.-Biography:...
and David Edward Price
David Edward Price
David Edward Price was a Quebec businessman and political figure. He was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1883....
of Quebec. The house today serves as the French Consulate at Quebec.