Our next port in Canada was Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island.
After our day there we had two sea days as Sapphire Princess made her way South to New York through the stormy Atlantic.
Our cruise to Canada and New England took us across the Atlantic to St John’s, Newfoundland; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; two days in New York City; Newport, Rhode Island, Boston, Massachusetts; Rockland, Maine; St John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and back across the Atlantic to Southampton.
Day 9 Sunday 22nd September 2019: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
We had a very smooth passage overnight then we had a relaxed breakfast in the International restaurant.
Our table was for eight and we had lots of interesting conversations. My neighbours on the table were from South Wales and explained about how difficult it could be as neither of them spoke the Welsh language. We shared loosing a male relative who had emigrated to America to improve their lot and then later had tragically died. It seems that her great grandfather had contracted smallpox. They now had no idea of where he was buried, only the name of the city and a long gone undertakers.
Walking around Charlottetown
The cruise terminal had a large airy hall. There we paused briefly and did a quick download of all our emails. The fast Internet was excellent.
At the quayside we picked up a map and followed the red line on the pavements that promised to take us on a walking tour of the historic city.
Opposite St Dunstan’s Basilica was this statue depicting the debates that took place about confederation that led to Canada being formed from the individual provinces.
Victoria Park and Beaconsfield House
At the end of the walk we were at Victoria Park. There we had great views across the harbour to the entrance.
Behind us there was a row of houses, all of which overlooked the sea.
The last house was Beaconsfield House which is now a museum.
Inside Beaconsfield House
For a few Canadian dollars we went on a fascinating tour of the house.
We discovered that the cost to build the house in today’s money was staggering. The first owners, the Peakes, had been some of the wealthiest people on the island. She had been the daughter of the Governor and her husband a prominent ship builder. The house must of been sad as they lost children to illness long before while they lived there then his business collapsed. The switch from sailing ships to steam and metal ships was his downfall.
The banks had called in all his loans and repossessed the house. Her father bought them a small house in a less expensive part of the city before he disowned them. She eventually became a maid to make ends meet and he became a barman out West and eventually died at age 53.
The next owner bought the house for a song from the bank and lived there with his two sisters. They left the house to the state and it became a home for female students. The majority of the contents had been disposed of and the museum has been buying period furniture and even some of the lost original furniture.
The staircase was illuminated by this window.
The bedrooms had been filled with period furniture.
We went to the top floor to see the large servants area and then climbed to the observatory right at the top of the house.
This gave clear views across to the harbour entrance.
Across West Street we could see the white house that had originally stood on the spot before being moved by the Peakes to make way for their house.
