Historic Beaverbrook House, childhood home of Lord Beaverbrook

The Aitken family on the steps of Beaverbrook House.

Historic Beaverbrook House

The Historic Beaverbrook House was built in 1877 as a home for renowned shipbuilder and merchant, William Watt. The Second Empire style building was sold in 1879 to the Presbyterian congregation, who would use the building as a manse for their local minister.

In 1880, Reverend William Cuthbert Aitken, his wife Jane and their 5 children arrived from Maple, Ontario to reside in the house. Subsequent ministers and their families used the manse until Lord Beaverbrook bought it in 1952.

Lord Beaverbrook purchased the building from the St. James United Church and after renovating it; gave it to the Town of Newcastle as the area’s first Public Library. Beaverbrook named the library the Old Manse Library. A new library which opened in 1992 on the Newcastle waterfront, near the old town hall, replaced the Old Manse Library. Since then the Old Manse has been used as a historical museum.