O-1641

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chair (Sergeant-at-Arms)

Sergeant-at-Arms' chair

This chair is placed just inside the entrance to the House of Commons and is reserved for the Sergeant at-Arms, the official historically responsible for security in the Chamber. Amongst other duties related to the business of the House, Sergeant-at-Arms escorts the Speaker and senior procedural officers into the Chamber in the ceremonial procession that marks the beginning of each sitting day.

The chair is an example of Elizabethan Revival furniture, a style that became popular during the Victorian era. Its strong lines and robust frame are typical of the classical forms that emerged during the English Renaissance. The chair was purchased from Henry Morgan and Company of Montreal in 1920 as part of the fit-up of Parliament’s newly reopened Centre Block.

Henry Morgan and Company Limited

Henry Morgan was born in Scotland in 1819 and immigrated to Canada when he was 26 years old. Morgan settled in Montreal, where he established himself as a dry goods retailer. He founded Henry Morgan and Company in 1850. Over the next 25 years, the business grew from a simple shop with 10 clerks and apprentices into a large enterprise, eventually becoming Canada’s first retail department store and employing over 150 clerks. In 1891, the company opened its flagship department store on Sainte-Catherine Street, far from the central business district, in what was then an affluent residential neighbourhood. A mail order business launched around the same time published catalogues for general distribution twice a year. Morgan died in 1893 but his family retained control of the business until the company merged with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1960.

John Andrew Pearson

The individual most closely associated with the construction of Centre Block was a Toronto-based architect by the name of John Andrew Pearson. Pearson was born in England in June 1867 and was educated there. Records suggest that shortly after completing his studies in Sheffield, he immigrated to Canada in 1888. He began a long association with architect Frank Darling, of the firm of Darling and Sproatt, shortly afterwards. By 1893, the firm had been renamed to Darling and Pearson, and Pearson at the age of 31 had established himself as a fixture on the Canadian architectural scene.

Over the next 45 years John Andrew Pearson was associated with increasingly larger number of projects, ranging from commercial structures and hospitals to universities and legislative buildings. By 1913 the Year Book of Canadian Architecture referred to him as a "Master Builder." While associated with many major bank and public buildings, his most noteworthy project was the reconstruction of the Parliament Building destroyed in the fire of February 1916. Together with Montreal architect Joseph-Omer Marchand, Pearson created a superb design that not only fit within the existing framework of Parliament Hill, but provided for the construction of a thoroughly modern, and fireproof, building that would meet the needs of a modern legislature, but one that would fit within a neo-gothic setting.

The construction of the building gave Pearson ample room to demonstrate his genius and vision. The architect was involved in all aspects of the interior and exterior design. Furniture, decorative metal work and stonework were parts of the design process. The symbolic and ceremonial aspects of Parliament, both for parliamentarians and Canadian citizens, were continually acknowledged in the design of the building, culminating in the Peace Tower and its Memorial Chamber.

John Andrew Pearson's genius and prominent role were acknowledged by the University of Toronto in 1932 when he was the first architect in Canada to receive an Honorary Doctor of Architecture Degree.