[Video] A Look Back at Grantham Hall Estate
[Slide show of file folders with the title of the video A Look at the Grounds of Grantham Hall. Then, a black and white drawing of a man in military dress.]
Around 1815, Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick George Heriot, founder of Drummondville, built a home called Comfort Hall on a vast plot of land near the magnificent St. Francis River.
[Drawing showing a river in the foreground and a village in the distance.]
In 1842, the colonial-style residence and the estate were transferred to his cousin, politician Robert Nugent Watts.
[Colour portrait of a man in a suit with a grey beard. Then, a black and white photograph of a large house with a family sitting on the steps.]
Aspiring to something much bigger, Watts quickly had a sumptuous mansion built there, which he named Grantham Hall.
[Black and white photograph of the house with a horse-drawn carriage in the foreground.]
The large house is surrounded by an enchanting landscape made up of gardens, woodlands, and outbuildings.
[Black and white photograph of a living room.]
The family received many of the period’s dignitaries as guests.
In 1908, the Watts family sold the estate to Montreal Notary Herbert Meredith Marler, who renovated it as his summer residence.
[Black and white portrait of a man with a moustache and wearing a graduation gown. Then, a black and white photograph of the house with a large fountain in the foreground.]
To entertain his guests, he built a complete nine-hole golf course!
[Aerial view of the estate converted into a golf course where you can see the ruins of the house.]
Unfortunately, Grantham Hall went up in flames in 1922 and was abandoned after that…
Businessmen bought the land and it became the Drummondville Golf and Country Club in 1924.
[Black and white photograph of four men playing golf.]
Since then, the golf course has been the subject of ongoing improvements, enhancing both its beauty and quality, to everyone’s delight, thanks to the efforts of the current owners, the Soprema company.
[Credits page showing the logo of the Drummond Historical Society and those of the various partners: Soprema, MRC de Drummond and Ville de Drummondville. The name of the researcher and editor, Gabriel Cormier, the name of the narrator, Julie Miller, and the name of the company that created the video, Synaptik Média inc.]