| Wedgwood Manor is situated on
a fifty-acre estate with a glorious view of the magnificent
Kokanee Glacier. This lovely board-and-batten style house, built
in 1910 by Commander James Matthew Harrison, is one of the finest
lodgings in Southeastern British Columbia.
Upon entering the Manor, you will be greeted by your hosts,
Andre and Nancy, in the Lobby, and taken on a tour of the Manor's
ground floor dining room and parlour with their beautiful fireplaces.
Guests can enjoy tea and conversation with fellow travellers
here and in the Library upstairs. As your hosts live elsewhere
on the property, the Manor is for guests to use and enjoy.
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Wedgwood Manor has a somewhat unusual history, as it was built
as the retirement home of a Royal Navy Senior Commander James
Matthew Harrison for his wife, Lady Lucy Caroline Wedgwood.
In the late 1800’s, while on a stopover at Esquimalt,
BC, Harrison traveled to the Kootenays to join a friend for
a hunting and fishing trip. He was so taken with the area’s
rugged beauty that he decided to make his home here.
In England, he had married Lucy Caroline Wedgwood, great grand
daughter of the founder of the Wedgwood China Company. Her uncle
was Charles Darwin, and famed British composer Ralph Vaughan
Williams was her cousin. The couple had three sons and two daughters.
One son died quite young, of scarlet fever in England.
In 1908, Cdr. Harrison left England, taking his daughter Nancy
with him. The remaining sons, were officers in the Royal Navy,
and stayed in England. At that time, both Cdr. Harrison and
his wife were in their 60s. By 1910, the estate was built and
named “Freckleton”. The two daughters married local
men, and one built a house right next door.
In World War I, tragedy struck when the remaining two sons
were killed in action. To memorialize his sons, Cdr. Harrison
began construction of a little church which would bear their
name. However, in June of 1919, Mrs. Harrison died quite suddenly,
and the church became the memorial to her and their sons.
Commander Harrison died in June 1926 at age 79, and was buried
beside his wife on the Manor grounds.
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