Place Description
This large Colonial Revival style two-storey home features a symmetrical facade with large gabled dormer. It has a hipped roof and a gable roofed extension on the back. It is located on a large lot in the rural community of Hazel Grove.
Why is this place important?
The home is valued for its Colonial Revival style and association with Island architect, C.B. Chappell, as well as for its association with the Bagnall family.
This large home was built in 1909 as a summer home for William (Willie) Ellsworth Bagnall (1861-1937). Bagnall had the house designed by noted architect, Charles Benjamin Chappell, on the family farm in Hazel Grove. It is one of the rare examples of Chappell's work in rural PEI. It also contained a special bell system to summon servants to wait on the guests!
Bagnall had worked in Ottawa and New York City where he achieved success in the stock market and real estate. Unfortunately, he lost much of his wealth in the 1929 market crash.
While he was away, the house was occupied by his brother, James College "Pope" Bagnall and his family. Eventually, Pope Bagnall purchased the property in a sheriff's sale in the 1930s.
By the 1950s, Pope's son, Errol and his wife Leone (MacKay) Bagnall inherited the home. Their family continues to reside in the house today. Leone Bagnall was a teacher and politician. She was the first woman to hold a cabinet position in a Conservative government in PEI. She was Minister of Education from 1982-1986, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, first interim leader of the Conservative Party, and first female leader of the Opposition in Canada. She was invested in the Order of Canada in 1995.
Despite some modern additions such as vinyl siding and the removal of the original balcony verandah which was replaced by an enclosed front porch, the house remains a significant landmark in the rural community of Hazel Grove.
Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/H21
Special Characteristics
The following character-defining elements reflect the heritage value of the house:
- the two-storey wood framed Four Square/Colonial Revival style
- the hipped roof with hipped roof dormers
- the brick chimneys
- the central large gable dormer with eave returns
- the gable roofed extension at the back of the house
- the fenestration of the windows and doors
- the enclosed front porch
- the location of the home on a farm in a rural setting
