BloomsburyPortHope

 2 Baldwin Street, Port Hope

Canadian $1,280,000 / ~ U.S. $1,166,000

The Owner's Notes

The Bloomsbury Group was an important movement of writers, artists, designers, intellectuals, philosophers, economists, etc. in England, from the beginning of the 20th century through World War II. It began as a group of friends who had gone to Cambridge University together, and who frequently gathered at the home of the Stephens sisters in the Bloomsbury district of London. Virginia Stephens became Virginia Woolf, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, and married to Leonard Woolf, a literary figure and publisher who founded the Hogarth press with Virginia.. Vanessa Stephens was an artist, who married art historian Clive Bell but shared a home at Charleston farm for most of her life with fellow artist Duncan Grant. Charleston was a country house that became the gathering place and weekend home of many of the group -- decorated and painted throughout by Vanessa, Duncan, Clive and others, who also created beautiful gardens. Other members fo the Group and visitors to Charleston included writer Lytton Strachey, artist Roger Fry, economist John Maynard Keynes, philosopher Bertrand Russell, poet T.S. Eliot, writer E.M. Forester... In Port Hope, Bloomsbury on Baldwin Street evokes the spirit of Virginia and Vanessa -- and reflects the style and ambience of Charleston Farm -- a place that is home to art and books, and a gathering place for eclectic groups of friends, country weekends, political gatherings, and conversation... in the house, in the gardens, by the pool and on the tennis court (considered by many visiting tennis lovers from around the world to be the most beautiful private court in Canada.

About the house -- the earliest part of the house was Georgian -- built in 1843 -- one of the earliest houses in this section of Port Hope which was known as Englishtown and was a garrison area for British soldiers. The earliest occupants were probably army officers. By early in the 20th century, the house was owned by Nicholson's File Factory, a major mill and employer in Port Hope at the time, and was occupied by the marketing and sales director of the factory. The retaining wall in the ravine on the North side of the house was created by literally hundreds of millstones and grinding stones from the file factory. In 1970,. the house was bought by Claude Fitzgibbons, a lawyer and colourful local character who added on the great hall, swimming pool, cabana and tennis court. Irv Bronfman was the next owner before us. We then bought the house, which had fallen into disrepair and restored the house and gardens and created Bloomsbury.