Niagara Public School
Niagara Public School, today known as BranCliff Inn, was a public school in Newark in the Province of Canada (today's Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario). The school house is located at 40 Platoff Street in the National Historic District known as Niagara-on-the-Lake or Old Town.
The construction of the school was a result of The Great Swap, the first and largest surrender of a portion of the military reserve around Fort Mississauga since its boundaries were created in 1796. The portion of land was sold to the Honourable James Crooks, who in 1854 sold a partial lot to the Town Council of Niagara for "uses of Common Schools and Grammar Schools in the Town of Niagara forever."[1] Prior to construction, Niagara had a strong educational community, with schools operating from private residences. The large two-storey brick building was built in 1859 as a public school, serving the town's children until 1948 when the new Parliament Oak School was built nearby.[1][2] One of its first principals was Janet Carnochan, who later became a prolific chronicler of the history of the Niagara area and a key figure in the development of local historical societies and museums in Ontario, including the founding of the Niagara Historical Society and the Niagara Public Library.[3][4] The school house served elementary grades and had four classrooms, two on each floor. The school was used until 1948, after which it was converted into a four unit apartment building. In 2005 it was converted into a bed and breakfast, and in 2012 renamed the BranCliff Inn.
The National Historic Site designation of the historic district, in 2003, includes buildings built from 1815 to 1859 in a 25 block area having "location close to the Niagara River on Front Street and extending approximately four blocks north to Castlereagh Street".[5] The entire block that includes the school is included in the district.[6]
The historic district was defined to include buildings that include various character-defining elements besides their location. Some other qualifying elements are that the buildings may have two-story rectangular massing, an overall symmetrical composition of a five-bay facade, a central entrance, limited decoration around the main entrance and ground floor windows, use of brick construction, gabled roof sloping to the front and rear.[5] These other qualifying elements appear to be exemplified in the Niagara Public School building.[7] Another qualifying element is that buildings may have had "restoration work that is sympathetic to the original appearance and character of buildings built during the 1815 to 1859 period".[5] This may also apply.[7]
References
- 1 2 Richard D. Merritt (2012). On Common Ground: The Ongoing Story of the Commons in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Dundurn. p. 109.
- ↑ Dale, R.J. Niagara-on-the-Lake: Its heritage and its festival. p. 68.
- ↑ Murray, H. (2002). Come, Bright Improvement!: The Literary Societies of Nineteenth-century Ontario. University of Toronto Press. p. 281.
- ↑ "Janet Carnochan". sandycline.com.
- 1 2 3 Niagara-on-the-Lake. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Note: Supporting documentation is located at National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec.
- ↑ See map of historic district within historic plaque: File:National Historic District Map.jpg, and verify school is within block bounded by Platoff, Davy, Castlereagh and King streets by Google StreetView of April 2014
- 1 2 Elements can be seen in Google StreetView of April 2014. A copy of supporting documentation for the historic site designation for development of this Niagara Public School article has been requested; the documents pending may or may not specifically verify that these elements are deemed to apply for this building.
External links
- Brancliff Inn, official site