Westmount places: Roslyn Avenue
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE FAMILIAR: THE FORMER RESIDENTS WHO CALLED ROSLYN AVENUE THEIR HOME
By?Michael Walsh
Roslyn Avenue is a historic residential street located in Westmount, Quebec, with a rich and fascinating history dating back to the late 19th century. The street was first developed in the late 1890s, with its first recorded residence established in 1898.
It always surprises me how many people, throughout Montreal, associate Roslyn Avenue with Roslyn School (inaugurated as Roslyn Avenue School). There are many reasons this occurs – the school has been a fixture in the City since it opened in 1908, inaugurated the first French immersion programme on the island of Montreal in 1968 and has many notable alumni (including Leonard Cohen).
As we continue our journey along Westmount’s streets and avenues we will step back in time and explore an era when the current school grounds formed a portion of Louis XIV’s vast domain royal of colonies known as New France. Interestingly, during that period, today’s Province of Quebec was known as “Canada.”
Our story begins in 1690 when Louis XIV granted a plot of land to Marin Hurtubise for services rendered. The land, conferred by Maisonneuve, extended from the Glen to Queen Mary Road and Roslyn to Claremont avenues.
During that same period, portions of this land were purchased by the Gentlemen of St. Sulpice. They parcelled out the property into narrow strips, one arpent wide, a configuration that can be seen in Westmount to this day.
… the street honours Alexander Wedderburn… Earl of Rosslyn. Wedderburn was a Scottish-born British judge who entered Parliament and, in 1771, was appointed Solicitor-General. During this role, he was instrumental in establishing certain provisions in the Quebec Act of 1774.
If one fast-forwards, one hundred years of ownership of Roslyn and Grosvenor avenues fell under the Westmount Land Company. Both streets were ceded to the Town of Westmount in August 1897.
The street’s first recorded residence occurred in 1898. Understandably, there was no civic number, however, the occupant is listed as James Currie of Bruneau, Currie and Company (wholesale flour merchants). One year later the residence was assigned civic number 536.
That same year, a second residence was occupied, bearing civic number 310. Its occupant was G. Webster of Webster Brothers and Parkes (manufacturers of wood mantels, mosaic floors and fireplace goods).
One year later, the street’s water main was installed – with its first connection to the Webster residence.
By 1902 the street sported its first streetlight – an electric arc lamp at the corner of Sherbrooke Street. In addition, the section between C?te Saint Antoine and Westmount Avenue was graded and twelve-inch tile (agricultural) drains were installed. Two years later, these were replaced by below-ground drainage pipes.
Transportation was provided by the Montreal Street Railway operating a double-track loop line from the Boulevard via Roslyn Avenue.
In 1904, the City extended Roslyn and Grosvenor avenues above The Boulevard. That same year, the Montreal Water and Power Company installed the street’s water mains above Westmount Avenue.
By 1908 the construction of the street’s landmark, Roslyn School was completed. Interestingly, in 1923, the school hosted the City’s second skating rink – the first at Westmount Park. Entrance required a ticket available at the greenhouse.
The street’s final extension occurred in 1915 by joining it to the City of Montreal’s side. (Roslyn Avenue was extended, once again, in Mount Royal Ward to Queen Mary Road in 1930.)
The street nearly lost its exclusive residential status, in 1917, when a developer approached Council for permission to erect a movie theatre at the corner of Sherbrooke Street. The street’s residents petitioned Council, which ultimately agreed to deny the application.
That same year, the Dominion Methodist Church opened as the street’s first house of worship.
Between 1920 and 1921 pedestrian access was enhanced with the construction of stairs connecting the street to Grosvenor and Lansdowne avenues as well as northward to the City limits.
In 1920, Bremmer Norris and Company, a contracting company, occupied an area at the corner of Sunnyside Avenue. Council approved their construction of five garages in that area. The firm’s lasting imprint on the City was its construction of Selwyn House School.
Construction of the street’s second church, Westmount Baptist, commenced in 1923, at the corner of Sherbrooke Street with a fair amount of fanfare. Turning of the first sod was performed by former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. On this occasion, he used a gold shovel engraved with an inscription detailing the date and occasion of its use. Following the ceremony, David Lloyd George was presented with a gold key and conferred with the title Freeman of the City of Westmount.
In 1935, the City constructed the Roslyn Avenue public staircase in conjunction with the widening of The Boulevard.
Interestingly, in 1943, the Royal Canadian Airforce operated a Hospitality House on the street – unfortunately, no public record as to its address is available.
The ensuing years were not unlike other streets in Westmount. Families called the street their home – through marriages, births and deaths.
In 1988, however, several homeowners faced a period of financial insecurity when their property tax bills increased, in some cases, by 200 percent. In true civic form, the residents organized a protest (The 300 Block of Roslyn) and, with the support of City Council, reversed the disproportionate increases.
Following this incident, the street itself entered an unremarkable period – and a time for us to reflect on who the street honours.
“Roslyn”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is not a word that entered the English language – leaving one to assume it refers to an individual. In fact, it’s a corruption of Rosslyn – more specifically the Earl of Rosslyn. This is a common trait within Westmount (e.g. York, formerly Yorke, and Stayner, formerly Staynor).
More specifically, the street honours Alexander Wedderburn (1733-1805) Lord Loughborough and Earl of Rosslyn. Wedderburn was a Scottish-born British judge who entered Parliament and, in 1771, was appointed Solicitor-General. During this role, he was instrumental in establishing certain provisions in the Quebec Act of 1774. (As a background, the Quebec Act originated from the relations between the French majority of Quebec and the province’s English minority. Its passage resulted in the saving of British America to the Crown during the American Revolution. Its long-term consequence was the creation of a French province with full liberty of laws, religion and language.)
The creation of a French Assembly, within the Act, caused discord amongst the province’s Protestant minority as well as in the British parliament. The latter wanted to impose British laws that abolished language and religious privileges.
Wedderburn argued successfully for the establishment of a French Assembly for making laws, the retention of religious privileges, the protection of priests and the toleration of monastic orders. With these provisions, the Act was given Royal assent. Today, the Province of Quebec upholds many of Wedderburn’s provisions within its parliamentary system.
Interestingly, the Peerage still exists – Peter St Clair-Erskine is the 7th Earl of Rosslyn with his seat remaining in Rosslyn Castle.
At this point, armed with an understanding of the street’s genesis and its historical significance, let us take a journey of self-discovery as we walk along Roslyn Avenue and uncover the untold stories forgotten in time.
304 Roslyn Joseph W. Wray, Joseph C. Wray and Brothers, undertakers – 1937
Their funeral home at 1234 De La Montagne, was built in 1877 and the firm was founded in 1840. In 1970 the building was converted into a (reportedly haunted) restaurant and nightclub.
“… Mr. Wray created a sensation in Montreal on August 8, 1883, when his horse-drawn ambulance appeared on the streets, heretofore the practice being to use an ordinary horse cart on which was placed a mattress. His establishment since before the beginning of the present century has supplied the Montreal General Hospital, both central and western divisions, with ambulance service.” – Montreal Gazette, October 16, 1937
310 Roslyn Avenue G. M. Webster, Webster Brothers and Parkes – 1899) Manufacturers of wood mantels, mosaic floors and fireplace goods. Their offices were located at 232 St. James Street.
314 Roslyn Thomas E. Fee, Church and Fee renamed T. E. Fee and Sons, lumber merchants –1921 Property converted into a duplex – 1936
317 Roslyn Arthur Nicholas Gould – 1952 General practitioner and Royal Navy surgeon during the Boer War.
319 Roslyn Building damaged by fire, August 1956.
322 Roslyn The Honorable Philippe Roy – 1945
337 Roslyn Brian M. Burt, President and General Manager of Bepco Canada Ltd. – 1952 Founded in Belgium, with head offices in Farnborough England, the company supplies parts and accessories for tractors, combines and agricultural machinery.
343 Roslyn John Franklin Pierce, Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company (today, Canada Steamship Lines Limited) – 1943
345 Roslyn
“Mrs. Robinson was present in support of her appeal, claiming that there was no justification for increasing the land valuation as the area was originally a ravine and she has experienced great concern over the building sinking to the fact.” – Council Proceedings, September 6, 1960
388 Roslyn William E. Enright M.D. – 1924
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411 Roslyn Westmount Baptist Church
413 Roslyn Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond Brutinel – 1916 Attaining the rank of Brigadier-General, Brutinel was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (1916). In addition, The Companion of St. Michael & St. George and The Order of Cavalier of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus were conferred by the King of Italy (1916).
“Brigadier-General Raymond Brutinel, CB, CMG, DSO, geologist, journalist, soldier and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the field of mechanized warfare (b at Alet, Aude, France 6 Mar 1872; d at Couloume-Mondebat, Gares, France 21 Sept 1964). He immigrated to western Canada in 1904, surveyed the route for the Grand Trunk Railway and edited Le Courrier de l’Ouest (Edmonton), the first French-language newspaper west of Winnipeg.” – The Canadian Encyclopedia
Surprisingly, following the war he relocated to Hendaye in southwestern France, and changed careers becoming a sales representative for Creusot – manufacturers of giant steam hammers, while still maintaining close ties with Winston Churchill and Major-General Georges Vanier. The building and lot were sold by the Sheriff’s Office, City of Montreal, to Financial Trust Ltd., in April 1916.
410 Roslyn Charles Stuart Le Mesurier – 1941 Dean, Faculty of Law, McGill University (1946-1949) and City of Westmount Library Trustee
414 Roslyn Purchased by Christ Church Cathedral – 1970
421 Roslyn Building converted into a two-family residence – 1942
424 Roslyn George Edward Blackwell, George E. Blackwell and Company – 1934 Picture framers and decorators. Headquarters at 4184 St. Catherine Street West.
441 Roslyn Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul
464 Roslyn Hudson Joshua Creighton Allison, British Lumber – 1900 A casualty in the 1912 RMS Titanic disaster. Today, the home has two civic numbers: 464 & 466 Roslyn.
475 Roslyn Gerald Bronfman, Businessman and President, Mount Sinai Hospital Corporation – 1974
476 Roslyn W. J. Chaplin, President and Managing Director, Canada Axe and Harvest Tool Manufacturing Company, Limited – 1906
481 Roslyn Frederick Burnett Jack – 1939 Associate of Sir Mortimer Davis in D. Ritchie & Company and later, Director, Imperial Tobacco Company (today, Imperial Brands plc).
500 Roslyn Robert Smart, Junior, Ticket agent, Canadian Pacific Railway – 1899 Victor E. Kerrigan, Kerrigan, MacTier Co. Ltd., investment bankers – 1944
510 Roslyn Frank Duckett, Duckett, Hodge and Company, butter exporters – 1899
513 Roslyn Building converted into a two-family dwelling – 1946
517 Roslyn Henry Lloyd Blachford, Manufacturer and Alderman, City of Westmount – 1953
In 1921, Blachford founded a sales agency for chemicals used in the rubber, paint and ink industries, including pigments, dyestuffs, carbon blacks for rubber and drying rolls. Today, the company is still in operation as H. L. Blachford Ltd. in Mississauga Ontario.
Dr. Stanley Constantine Skoryna, Director, McGill University Gastro-Intestinal Research Laboratory – 1979
536 Roslyn “Lincluden” James Currie, Bruneau, Currie and Company – 1899 The company was founded, in 1890, by Louis Philippe Bruneau and James Currie. It specialized in the wholesale sale of flour and various food products. The residence’s garden was awarded first prize, suburban cottage gardens, by the Montreal Horticultural Society, and Fruit Growers’ of Quebec – 1899
565 Roslyn Dr. Donald R. Webster, Surgeon-In-Chief, Royal Victoria Hospital, and professor of surgery at McGill University – 1959 In conjunction with Dr. Skoryna (also a residential neighbour) researched new methods of inducing stomach cancers in rats. Their pioneering research led to the treatment of similar cancers in humans.
579 Roslyn Alex M. Bilsky – 1925
544 Roslyn A. R. Whittall, President, A. R. Whittall Can Company – 1944 The company manufactured printed (lithographed) metal honey tins, which they referred to as “packages”. The Continental Can Company of Canada purchased the A. R. Whittall Can Company of Montreal, in 1936, and opened a new factory in Toronto. He was also the mayor of Bark Merem in the Arundel district, since its inception in 1925.
555 Roslyn Formerly named Drummond Court Apartments – 1939
557 Roslyn Building damaged by fire – January 1975
566 Roslyn Charles A. Jackson, Superintendent, Lachine High School – 1932
572 Roslyn Lieutenant Colonel Irwin Hamilton Eakin, E.D., C.I.C. – 1944 Awarded Member of the British Empire (Military Division)
609 Roslyn Dent Harrison, Alderman, City of Westmount – 1933
615 Roslyn Charles Aspler, Architect and Alderman City of Westmount – 1969
631 Roslyn A. W. Lefcort, Vice-President, Biltmore Shirt Company – 1943 Their factory was located at 1421 Rue Montcalm. (Until recently, the building was occupied by The Bears Factory – manufacturers of customized teddy bears.)
636 Roslyn James G. Shearer, President, James Shearer Company Limited – 1932 The company manufactured woodwork for steamboat cabins. Using power-driven machinery, they were pioneers in the mass production of wood products.
Donald F. Angus, President, Antiquarian and Numismatic Society – 1964
From its inception in 1862, the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society began its collection with donations from Montrealers, including members of the Society itself. This collection is characterized by the richness, rarity and diversity of its pieces. Estimated at nearly 30,000 objects, it can be subdivided into several categories: manuscripts, printed material, numismatics, ethnology, works of art, prints, paintings, furniture, etc. which bear exceptional witness to our history. – Chateau Ramezay Collections
9029 2871 Québec Inc. – 1997 Building and lot placed for sale due to tax arrears.
642 Roslyn William Leslie Armour Brodie, Brodie and Harvie Limited – 1939 Manufacturers of Brodie’s XXX Self-Raising Flour.
652 Roslyn Major Cecil Frank Carsley, M.B.E., awarded Officer, Order of Orange Nassau with Swords –1946 Deputy Commissioner General, Canadian World Exhibition Corporation. Operating under the Canadian World Exhibition Corporation Act for the development of Expo ’67.
680 Roslyn Commander Mortimer Bistrisky, HMCS Donnacona – 1971
682 Roslyn John W. Ritchie, Vice-President and Chief Actuary, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada – 1962
687 Roslyn Saint Andrew’s Dominion Douglas United Church – 1927
Michael Walsh is a long-time Westmount resident. He is happily retired from nearly four decades in the field of higher education technology. A “professional student” by nature, his academic training, and publishing include statistical methodology, mycology and animal psychology. During this period, he was also an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. Before moving to Montreal, he was contracted by the Ontario Ministry of Education to evaluate bilingual primary and secondary school programs. Today, he enjoys spending time with his (huge) Saint Bernard while discovering the city’s past and sharing stories of the majestic trees that grace the parks and streets. He can be contacted at michaelld2003 @hotmail.com or through his blog Westmount Overlooked