OUR BARN

The visual focal point of Monck’s Landing is the unique stone barn which occupies a central vantage point on the course. Recalling the mills which dot the landscape of “the old country”, our barn provides an authentically stately echo of the links tradition Monck’s Landing has strived to recreate.

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Featuring 2-foot thick locally-quarried stone walls up to the gables, and a “flying-buttress” roof perhaps unseen in any other similar structure in Canada, the barn is a one-of-a-kind building that Monck’s Landing is proud to call our own……and to share with the golfing (and non-golfing) public.

Local legend has it that the Stephens family (the original owners of the farm upon which Monck’s Landing was built) commissioned a local Scottish stonemason named Valentine to build them an indestructible barn after previous such structures on the property had, a) burnt down, and, b) blown over…..a story perhaps too perfect in its “Three Little Pigsian” symmetry! Whatever the case, Mr. Valentine proceeded to make use of the abundance of cheap labour afforded by local men discharged from the army after World War I and built the barn in 1919, using horse-drawn wagons and stone boats to haul the rock, pulleys to lift the stone into place, and hammers & chisels to shape the stones by hand. Mr. Valentine evidently had some experience in the construction of mills in his native Scotland, since the finished product features many flourishes not usually seen in a building used for mere animal husbandry.

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The Kuschnereit family’s restoration of this priceless building began with the clearing out and cleaning up of 80+ years of accumulated grit and grime during the summer of 2004, in order to reveal the breathtaking stone and woodwork inside of the barn. Fearful that snow and rain entering the barn through the broken and missing windows on the ground floor might deteriorate the structure, an area company was instructed to produce exact reproductions of the original windows, using a photo taken of the barn during its construction discovered in a local archive, and these windows were installed in the spring of 2005. To further ensure the barn’s continued “health & happiness”, a Structural Engineering Firm was hired to produce a report detailing what steps should be undertaken to properly maintain the structure.

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It is the Kuschnereit family’s intention to continue with their restoration, in order that the public will be allowed to experience the full magnificence of this structure when Monck’s Landing’s Clubhouse is relocated to the barn…..separate interior spaces currently exist to host a Pro Shop, kitchen facilities, washrooms, a wine cellar, a private lounge, and “The Mashie & Niblick” Pub. All attention and care will be undertaken by the Kuschnereits to ensure that this restoration maintains the existing character and charm of this unique building.