Description of Historic Place

The Garage and Servant’s Quarters at Kingswood, sits nestled among the trees at the Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park. It is a one-and-a-half storey gable roofed building with central dormers on two sides. The building consists of a garage on its ground storey and a residence in the upper level. Its walls are clad in shiplap, and wood planks are applied in a grid pattern on the second storey. The small balcony located above the wooden garage doors and the small paned casement windows add to the building’s aesthetic appeal. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Garage and Servant’s Quarters is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
The Garage and Servant’s Quarters is associated with Canada’s 10th Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. The building provides insight into the personality of a major Canadian political figure. Designed by King in 1922, it illustrates his interest and involvement in the development and design of the estate. The large estate, inclusive of three separate sites, Kingswood, Moorside and the Farm, was regarded by King himself as his true legacy to the Canadian people.

Architectural Value
The Garage and Servant’s Quarters is valued for its good aesthetic and functional design. It is the only building at the Kingswood site that demonstrated some attempt at novelty in design and lifts the estate above the basic Ontario and Québec cottage type. Its designer, King, also added a few decorative flourishes to the basic cottage form. These elements give the design a slightly less rustic character and suggest the more genteel and refined air of an English country cottage.

Environmental Value
The Garage and Servant’s Quarters 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 following character-defining elements of the Garage and Servant’s Quarters should be respected:

Its good aesthetic and functional design, and good craftsmanship and materials, for example:
- the one-and-a-half storey massing with a gable roof and central dormers on its sides;
- the wood construction clad in shiplap siding and wood planks applied in a grid pattern at the second storey;
- the small balcony above the garage doors on the second level;
- the small paned casement windows and their arrangement;
- the wood double garage doors;
- the interior layout, which consists of a garage space on its ground level with a residence in the upper storey.

The manner in which the Garage and Servant’s Quarters 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 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.