When
the Laval Normal School was installed there, Bishop Langevin, then
Principal, had the wing erected where the chapel stands.
The vaulted room
used as a kitchen for the Laval Normal School, was an old powder magazine;
it is the most ancient portion of the building. The present Castle was, by
Order in Council of 14th February, 1871, transferred by the Dominion
authorities to the Government of the Province of Quebec, together with
Durham Terrace, the Sewell Mansion, facing the Esplanade (Lieutenant-
Governor's office), also, the site and buildings of the Parliament House,
on Mountain Hill.
The extension of this lofty and beautiful Terrace, suggested to the City
Council by the City Engineer in his report of 1872, necessarily formed a
leading feature in the splendid scheme of city improvements, originated by
the Earl of Dufferin, with the assistance of Mr. Lynn, an eminent Irish
engineer, and of our City Engineer, le Chevalier Baillairge. An appeal was
made by a true and powerful friend to Quebec (Lord Dufferin) to our
gracious Sovereign, who contributed munificently from her private purse,
for the erection of the new gate, called after her late father, the Duke
of Kent - Kent Gate, in remembrance of his long sojourn (1791-4) in this
city. Large sums were also granted by the Dominion, it is thought, chiefly
through the powerful influence of Lord Dufferin, seconded by Sir H. L.
Langevin; an appeal was also made for help to the City Council and not in
vain; it responded by a vote of $7,500.
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