308 Bancroft Lane
This house which sits quietly at the edge of the river bank was once a small cottage hospital. There is no date on the construction of the house but it was here before the building of the Lady Minto Hospital in 1913. Phil and Muriel Parke who were renting the apartment above The Journal bought the house from William Calder in 1928. At that time it had a small living room, kitchen and two bedrooms. A porch surrounded the front and ran along the back.
The Parkes raised five children in the house and it was continually being added on to as the family grew. The porch that ran along the back of the house was enclosed to provide a bathroom and an extra bedroom. Then in the 1940s a new kitchen was added and the wall between the old kitchen and living room was removed to provide the family with a larger living room area. Muriel Parke lived the house until 1993, and in 1998 the little house was sold. For 70 years this little house and yard was the scene of many happy gatherings for Parke family relations.
Please attend our Heritage Celebration on Sunday, Feb. 24 at the Community Hall from 2-4 pm and hear about the development of Ashcroft’s neighbourhoods and historic houses.
Kathy Paulos