March 2016 Volume 41 No. 1 ISSN 0384 7335 The Griffin A Quarterly Publication of Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia 3 ARTIST Jan Davison 4 AWARDS Heritage Trust 2015 Awards Ceremony, Royal Artillery Park, Halifax 6 LECTURE Clair Rankin – St Peter’s: the Village on the Canal Janet Morris 8 RURAL HERITAGE Documenting the Surviving Barns of the Eastern Shore Gordon Hammond 12 LECTURE Don Chard – Moving the Home: the Halifax Protestant Orphanage, its Buildings and the Children who Called Them Home (1857-1970) Linda Forbes 14 AWARDS Award to Barry MacDonald for Excellence in Supporting Heritage Conservation Dan Conlin March 2016 1 REPORT The Griffin President’s Report A quarterly newsletter jobs = economic growth. published by One cost concept of managerial Heritage Trust of accounting that should have greater Nova Scotia consideration in demolition decisions related to built heritage is opportunity Unless otherwise indicated, cost – the cost of an alternative that the opinions expressed must be forgone in order to pursue a in these pages are those of the specific action. In the demolition and contributors and do not re-development of heritage sites, op- necessarily reflect the views of Heritage Trust of portunity costs take two forms: costs Nova Scotia. weighed by the developer and costs weighed by the public and govern- Editorial Committee ment. The developer must consider the Donald Forbes, Dulcie Conrad, opportunity cost associated with the Peter Delefes, Donna McInnis, demolition of the historic building – a Janet Morris, Nancy O’Brien, capital asset that presumably also has a Tony Edwards (ex officio) productive use (the ability to generate Joe Ballard revenue). A vacant lot will generally be Contributors to this issue more attractive to a developer as it is un- Dan Conlin, Jan Davison, Preservation supporters have battled encumbered by the same opportunity Linda Forbes, Gordon Hammond, with threats of demolition for as long costs. For the public and government, Donna McInnis, Janet Morris as there has been heritage demolition. the development of a vacant lot is also Layout: Douglas Porter The preservation movement favours a better choice for it offers an accretion Printers: etc. Press Ltd sentimental and humanistic arguments. in developed property contributing to There is no doubt these have merit but municipal taxes and economic activity We welcome submissions but they also have a problem – they are not and the retention of an historic building reserve the right to edit for universally appreciated. There is another (on a non-vacant lot) with its subse- publication. All accepted argument that is almost exclusively ig- quent economic impact (property tax, contributions appear in both the nored by preservationists – one that, as property management, heritage build- print and web editions. it happens, uses the same language as ing trades) and productive use (revenue Deadline for the next issue: financial decision-makers the world over. generation). All of these are opportunity May 6, 2016 The argument I refer to is economic and costs incurred by the public and govern- the language used by decision-makers is ment in the case of demolition but they Please send your submissions to called managerial accounting. are almost never identified as such.T heir Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia Now, before you debate whether identification forces a healthy recon- PO Box 111 you should sell your souls to such a crass sideration of the illusion of just how Spring Garden RPO concept, let me tell you that managerial much (or little) net economic growth is Halifax NS B3J 3S9 accounting is not as cold and avaricious actually created by a perpetual cycle of [email protected] as it sounds. It is a decision-making tool demolition and construction. www.htns.ca that dovetails surprisingly well with The point is to begin using the Tel: 902 423-4807 preservation needs and concerns. Mana- decision-making tools of business and gerial accounting differs from financial the language of commerce in order to Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia accounting in that it places more em- articulate heritage preservation argu- is a charitable organization. phasis on the future, more emphasis on ments that have economic implica- All donations are tax creditable. non-monetary data, is not governed by tions. If you don’t, be prepared to be generally accepted accounting prin- dismissed as a latte-sipping, sentimental ciples, and draws heavily on other dis- flower child. If you disagree, write me at ciplines. It supports planning concepts [email protected] − but first, scan any Cover image: Detail from LaHave Bakery, by that, quite frankly, need to be employed social media comments associated with Jan Davison, 2015, acrylic on board, 30” x 40” to successfully challenge the prevailing news articles that report on the redevel- (courtesy of the artist) and flawed wisdom of development = opment of built heritage sites. 2 The Griffin • Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia ARTIST Jan Davison Jan Davison is a painter from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her work features local landscapes and architecture. A Bachelor of Fine Art graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Davison has worked as Artist in Residence at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and as Editorial Illustrator for the Chronicle Her- ald. While studying abroad in London, England, and later residing in France, she created artwork for a broad range of clients and collectors. Currently Davison’s work is rep- resented by Argyle Fine Art Gallery in Halifax and she also works with indi- vidual clients on commissions of homes, properties, and landscapes from Nova Scotia and elsewhere across the globe. Davison is the Creative Arts Coordinator for the non-profit organization, Laing House, and enjoys teaching others to create their own art. To view more of her work, please Hydrostone, by Jan Davison, 2015, acrylic on board, 24” x 30” (courtesy of the artist) visit her website: jdavisonart.com. Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia Illustrated Public Lecture Series April 21 7:30 pm James Macnutt Historic Courthouses of the Maritimes May 19 7:30 pm John Ashton A Lost French Settlement in Eastern Nova Scotia June 16 7:30 pm AGM and speaker TBA (AGM starts at 7:00 pm) Museum of Natural History Auditorium 1747 Summer Street, Halifax entry off parking lot (doors look closed but will be open) Edna (corner Gottingen Street and Portland Place, Halifax), by Jan Davison, 2015, acrylic on board, 24” Information: 423-4807 x30” (courtesy of the artist) Facebook: Heritage Trust Nova Scotia Twitter: @HTNovaScotia March 2016 3 awards Heritage Trust 2015 Awards Ceremony, Royal Artillery Park, Halifax On a crisp sunny Heritage Day (Joseph Howe Day, 15 February 2016), a crowd of more than 80 assembled in the historic Officers’ Mess, Royal Artillery Park, to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Mess, completed in February 1816, and to recognize the recipient of the Heri- tage Trust’s 2015 Award for Excellence in Supporting Heritage Conservation. The event began with the arrival of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, His Honour Brigadier-General the Hon- ourable J.J. Grant, CMM, ONS, CD (Ret’d). This was announced by Heritage Trust Life Member and Town Crier Blair Beed and the firing of the Citadel Hill gun. Opening remarks by HTNS President Joe Ballard and a welcome from Lt-Col. D. Warren Smith, CD, President of the Town Crier Blair Beed, Trust President Joe Ballard, Major Peter Dawson of the Princess Louise Fusiliers, Joanne McCormick, President of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society, Lieutenant-Colonel Officers’ Mess Committee, Royal Artillery D. Warren Smith CD, President of the Officers’ Mess Committee (in back), and Lieutenant-Commander Park, led the program. His Honour the Brenda Nelson, Aide-de-Campe to His Honour the Lieutenant Governor (Griffin photo) Lieutenant Governor brought greetings, during which he announced his recent remaining examples of numerous do- and fireplace. acceptance of the invitation to be Pa- mestic wooden structures used by the The 2015 Heritage Trust Award tron of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia. army regiments stationed in Halifax in for Excellence in Supporting Heritage Also present to offer greetings were the the Georgian era.”1 The need for a Mess Conservation was presented by Laura Honourable Tony Ince, Minister of Com- was recognized in July 1810, and plans MacNutt, Chair of the Awards Com- munities, Culture and Heritage for Nova were prepared the following year for mittee, to Barry MacDonald, former Scotia, and Councillor Lorelei Nicoll on a structure with accommodations for President of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse behalf of HRM Mayor Mike Savage. Anne three subalterns in addition to the large Preservation Society, long-time advo- Turner Snyder, daughter of the late Colo- mess room (where we gathered for this cate for heritage lighthouses across nel Malcolm Turner, CD, former Com- event). The building was designed to be Canada, and a recognized expert in the mander Atlantic, reminisced about her very similar in floor plan to the Com- history, architecture, and technology of teen years at Royal Artillery Park, when manding Officer’s residence, completed lighthouses. The citation was presented her family lived in the Commanding Of- in 1805, and deliberately copied other by Dan Conlin, Curator at the Canadian ficer’s residence in the late 1960s. features of the earlier building, including Museum of Immigration at Pier 213. As Noted architectural historian Eliza- the central gable and fanlight on both former Curator at the Maritime Museum beth Pacey, CM, DCL, author of Georgian front and rear elevations. Additional of the Atlantic, he noted that Barry Halifax1 and other books on the built land had to be acquired to allow for this MacDonald was a valued advisor and heritage of the Maritimes, presented an addition to the Park, accounting for the had facilitated the acquisition of several illustrated talk on the history of Royal unusual bend in Queen Street today.