Prince's Lodge, Nova Scotia
Prince's Lodge is a Subdivision located on the shore of Bedford Basin between the communities of Rockingham and Bedford in the Halifax Regional Municipality Nova Scotia on the Bedford Highway (Trunk 2) .
History
Prince's Lodge was named for the estate that Prince Edward, Duke of Kent resided in while in Halifax in from 1794 to 1800. In 1794, Prince Edward arrived to serve in Halifax as Commander-in-Chief of the King's forces in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He was accompanied by his French mistress Madame de Saint-Laurent. The Prince was often entertained by Sir John Wentworth, the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony, at his rural estate, the "Friar's Cell", as Wentworth called it, is an allusion to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The Prince liked it so much that Wentworth felt obliged to offer it to him during his stay in Halifax. Prince Edward accepted, and had the residence renovated and expanded, while also having the lands and gardens around the estate developed by a landscaper brought from England. The result was what is today Hemlock Ravine Park, 185 acres (0.75 km2) with a heart-shaped pond known as Julie's Pond, constructed by order of the Prince in her honour.
The Wentworths resumed living in the Lodge when Prince Edward returned to the UK. Now called the Prince's Lodge, it was here that Wentworth established the Rockingham Club. After Wentworth's death, the estate was neglected. By 1870, in ruins, it was sold at auction and divided into building lots. All that remains of the original estate is the music room (Rotunda), which the Nova Scotia Government acquired in 1959. It is a small, round music room that stands on a knoll overlooking the Bedford Basin.
