Description of Historic Place

A section of the 6000 acre Alwington Manor has been designated as a local historic place. This landscape was part of the original estate of General John Coffin. Its natural beauty with vistas of the Nerepis and Saint John rivers is valued by local residents for its historic and aesthetic value.

Heritage Value

The intrinsic heritage value of this important landscape resides in its association with General John Coffin and that it has retained its sense of place despite the passage of time. Alwington Manor was the home of General John Coffin (1756-1838), a significant figure in the history of Grand Bay-Westfield. A Loyalist officer and descendent of an aristocratic British family, Coffin resided in Boston prior to his arrival in the province in 1783. Stories abound about this controversial individual who served in the Kings American Regiment with Henry Nase, another figure prominent in the area’s history who became Coffin’s business partner. Coffin is credited with developing the area; he assisted in the construction of mills and farms, even importing farming stock and “implements of husbandry” from England and the United States.

Coffin originally lived in a home built for him by Henry Nase on land acquired on his behalf by Edward Winslow. In 1790 he acquired Glasier’s Manor from Beamsley Perkins Glasier consisting of 6000 acres. He renamed the property Alwington Manor after his ancestral home in Devon, England. The property was described in John McGregor’s British America, Volume 1 (1832) as a “beautiful and picturesque spot” overlooking the confluence of the Saint John and Nerepis Rivers. Remnants of the extensive apple orchard still stand as a reminder of the impressive estate that Coffin built.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements of the Alwington Manor landscape include:
- association with General John Coffin Henry Nase, Edward Winslow and Beamsley Perkins Glasier;
- Part of the 6000 acres formerly owned by General John Coffin;
- location overlooking the Saint John and Nerepis rivers, including natural beauty of the landscape.