Description of Historic Place

The Kingswood Guest Cottage sits nestled among the trees and close to the main cottage in the Kingswood Cottage complex at the Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park. It is a one-storey, hipped roofed rustic cottage with both open and enclosed verandahs. The building is of wood-frame construction and is clad in horizontal wood siding. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Kingswood Guest Cottage is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
The Kingswood Guest Cottage is associated with Canada’s 10th Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. Purchased by King in 1922, the building provides insight into the personality of a major Canadian political figure. His renovations to the cottage illustrate his interest in the development and design of the estate. The large estate, inclusive of three separate sites, Kingswood, Moorside and The Farm, were regarded by King himself as his true legacy to the Canadian people.

Architectural Value
The Kingswood Guest Cottage is valued for its good aesthetic and functional design. It is an example of typical summer residences of the early 20th century, characterized by their rustic simplicity. The cottage was renovated and enlarged with the addition of a new wing and front verandah.

Environmental Value
The Kingswood Guest Cottage reinforces the picturesque character of its country estate setting in Gatineau Park and is a familiar building within the immediate area.

Sources: Marc de Caraffe, La domaine Mackenzie King, Kingsmere, Parc de la Gatineau, Quebec, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, 84-015; Mackenzie King Estate: Kingswood, Gatineau Park, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 84-015.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Kingswood Guest Cottage should be respected.

Its good aesthetic and functional design, and good craftsmanship and materials, as for example: the one-storey massing with a hipped roof and chimney; the wood construction clad in horizontal wood siding; the open and enclosed verandahs; the window treatment and arrangement; the interior layout.

The manner in which the Kingswood Guest Cottage reinforces the present picturesque character of its country estate setting and is familiar in the area, as evidenced by: its overall scale, design and materials, which harmonize with its landscaped and natural surroundings and which complement the adjacent buildings at the estate; its familiarity in the immediate area due to its associations with a former Prime Minister of Canada; its visibility to visitors due to its location in Gatineau Park at Mackenzie King Estate.

Heritage Character Statement

Disclaimer - The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.

Today the Mackenzie King Estate consists of three groupings of buildings which correspond to the three phases of the estate's development. The Kingswood Cottage complex situated on the wooded banks of Kingsmere Lake, is the earliest grouping of buildings. It consists of the original Kingswood Cottage (purchased in 1903), the Guest Cottage (purchased in 1922) and the Garage and Servant's Quarters (built in 1922).

ARCHITECTURE
The one-storey hipped roof cottages with front verandahs are fairly conventional, non-descript designed structures. They are typical summer residences of the early 20th century, characterized by their rustic simplicity. On the other hand, the Garage and Servants' Quarters, built in 1922, demonstrated some attempt at novelty in design, which lifted it above the Ontario/Quebec cottage type. Its few decorative flourishes in the form of a small balcony over the garage doors, small paned casement windows, and wood planks applied in a grid pattern to the second storey, give the design a slightly less rustic character and suggest the more genteel and refined air of an English country cottage. Another architectural element about the Kingswood grouping is King's first major landscaping scheme - a driveway to the cottage which he laid in a "serpentine fashion" and lined with low stone walls. These refinements indicate King's developing taste for landscape design rooted in the informal English landscape tradition.

HISTORY
The significance of this building complex, along with the two other groupings of the estate, lies primarily in its association with Mackenzie King. It provides a fascinating insight into the personality of a major Canadian political figure and it, more than any other property associated with King, illustrates the personality and character of the man. It was clearly regarded by King himself as his true legacy to the Canadian people.

ENVIRONMENT
Although less important than Moorside and the Farm in terms of its contribution to the character of the area and its familiarity, Kingswood is part of this 50-year project which is an interesting example of a large country estate featuring what must be one of Canada's most elaborate picturesque landscape schemes. Its setting within the Gatineau Park and its association with a major Canadian political figure compensate somewhat for its lack of architectural uniqueness and makes it a popular tourist attraction.