BELLEVILLE, CANANDA

Glanmore exterior interpretation panel - English

What is Glanmore?

Glanmore National Historic Site of Canada was built between 1882-1883, as a private residence for banker John Philpot Curran Phillips and his wife Harriet Dougall Phillips, an artist and homemaker. Harriet was originally from Belleville and was a descendent of local United Empire Loyalists. The name ‘Glanmore’ comes from the Irish “An Gleann Mór” (genitive: an Ghleanna Mhóir). The meaning translates into English as “big or great glen” (gleann: glen, mór: big, great). John and Harriet Phillips informally adopted their daughter Jessie Patterson in 1896. Jessie went on to inherit Glanmore, where she and her husband Sanford Burrows raised their two daughters, Philippa and Sheila. Philippa married local physician George Vermilyea Faulkner, and they too raised their family at Glanmore. Glanmore is owned by the City of Belleville and is staffed by Museum Services; a dedicated team that makes objects and information significant to local history available to the public.

 

Why is Glanmore a National Historic Site?

In 1969, Glanmore was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in recognition of its exceptional Second Empire architecture. The term “Second Empire” refers to the Second French Empire during the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870), when the architectural style was exceptionally popular in Europe. Second Empire architecture is eclectic in nature and is often characterized by curved mansard rooflines, polychrome decoration, and highly embellished mixed elements including wood, metal, marble, stone, and glass. Belleville architect Thomas Hanley designed Glanmore, and construction was completed in 1883. Glanmore has undergone extensive site restoration to accurately interpret what the house and grounds would have looked like when the Phillips family lived at Glanmore in the 1880s.

Photo caption: Above: Glanmore’s first residents (left-right): Harriet Dougall Phillips (b. 1839, d. 1915), J.P.C. Phillips (b. 1842, d. 1912), and Jessie Patterson Phillips (b. 1882, d. 1932)