Houses

Gillard House, built in 1972, is named after Dr. Adelaide E. Gillard. Miss Gillard, as she was known then, was Headmistress of King's Hall, Compton (KHC) for 38 years—the longest period of service by any administrator at the all girls school. The school grew under her leadership from less than 50 students in the depression years, to 159 girls in her final year. She received D.C.L. (Honoris Causa) from Bishop’s University in 1961 for her outstanding leadership in the scholastic world and for her contributions as the headmistress of KHC. 

She was a scholar, a teacher, and an administrator, gaining both the affection and respect of those who knew her, and influencing hundreds of girls from every continent until her retirement in 1968. To this day, she is often affectionately referred to by KHC alumnae as ‘Gilly.’ Gilly’s legacy lives on in the young women who call Gillard House their home.

Glass House, built in 1936, is named after Dr. Charles Lapslie Ogden Glass, BCS’32. ‘Oggie’ was a student at BCS from 1928 to 1932, during which time he discovered his passion for competition. He excelled in all crease offerings and was the captain of both the hockey and football teams. A Rhodes Scholar, Oggie attended the University of Oxford where he played hockey, rugby, and tennis all over Europe, before joining the Navy to fight in the war. He returned to Canada, making his way to BCS as Headmaster from 1950 to 1960.

Oggie was Headmaster for only a few weeks before initiating construction on the Peter G. Holt Memorial Library. He championed significant change to the Moulton Hill campus during his tenure, building faculty housing, a gymnasium, and Grier House. He also spearheaded the conversion of the BCS gym into St. Martin’s Chapel. After 10 years, Oggie headed across the river to take on the position of Principal of Bishop’s University. There, he continued to establish structures and programs that bettered the student experience until his retirement in 1969. Oggie added the title of ‘BCS and KHC parent’ to his belt in the ’50s when his two daughters, Nancy (Glass) Carter, KHC’59, and Diana Glass, KHC’63, attended King’s Hall, Compton and his two sons, Gordon, BCS’65, and Richard, BCS’72, attended BCS.

Grier House, built in 1960 (and divided into Grier North and Grier South in 1976), is named after Colonel Crawford Grier, the 19^th Headmaster of BCS from 1931 to 1950. A veteran of the First World War, Col. Grier was appointed Headmaster in 1931, shortly after returning to civilian life from being an active member of the Canadian Field Artillery. From 1931 to 1942, he was an involved and proactive Head.

In February of 1942, he was appointed to the army staff at Washington with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with Senior Housemaster F.R. Pattison taking on the duties of acting Headmaster. Shortly thereafter, Grier was named Commanding Officer of the Royal Canadian Army in 1943. That same year, he returned to BCS to perform the duties of inspecting officer at the BCS Annual Cadet Review.

Col. Grier was reinstated as Head in September 1944, remaining in this position until January 3, 1950. It was under his leadership that the BCS No. 2 Cadet Corps was outfitted in ‘Cadet Blues’ for the yearly cadet inspections.

Grier House, built in 1960 (and divided into Grier North and Grier South in 1976), is named after Colonel Crawford Grier, the 19^th Headmaster of BCS from 1931 to 1950. A veteran of the First World War, Col. Grier was appointed Headmaster in 1931, shortly after returning to civilian life from being an active member of the Canadian Field Artillery. From 1931 to 1942, he was an involved and proactive Head.

In February of 1942, he was appointed to the army staff at Washington with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with Senior Housemaster F.R. Pattison taking on the duties of acting Headmaster. Shortly thereafter, Grier was named Commanding Officer of the Royal Canadian Army in 1943. That same year, he returned to BCS to perform the duties of inspecting officer at the BCS Annual Cadet Review.

Col. Grier was reinstated as Head in September 1944, remaining in this position until January 3, 1950. It was under his leadership that the BCS No. 2 Cadet Corps was outfitted in ‘Cadet Blues’ for the yearly cadet inspections.

McNaughton, opened in 1971 as a new senior boys’ residence, is named in honour of Lieutenant-General A. G. L. McNaughton, C.B., C.M.S., D.S.O., M.Sc, LL.D. A BCS student from 1901-1905, McNaughton went on to earn his B.A. from McGill in 1910 and an M.Sc. in 1912. At the outbreak of World War I, he organized the 4^th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, and went overseas with the First Canadian Contingent. McGill awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 1921 in recognition of his distinguished services during the war. In 1936, he performed the inspection of the BCS No. 2 Cadet Corps for the school’s centennial celebrations. 

He was the Minister of National Defence from 1939-1945 and subsequently chaired the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission from 1946-1948. He was appointed permanent delegate of Canada to the United Nations and a representative of Canada on the Security Council. In 1950, McNaughton became a Commissioner of the International Joint Commission and its Canadian Chairman shortly after. During his twelve year tenure in this position, the IJC considered, among other major engineering projects, the development of the St. Lawrence River for power and navigation.

The first new student residence in over 50 years, Mitchell Family House construction began in September 2018. The house is appropriately named in honour of the Mitchell family, many of whom attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in June 2019.

The Mitchell family has had an enormous impact over five generations of active, generous, and leadership involvement at BCS and KHC, including a 12-year BCS chairmanship from the Honourable Justice Mitchell, BCS’26; transformative development success by the late Bradley Mitchell, BCS’53; passionate, effective philanthropy by Jane Mitchell Molson, KHC’58, and Eric Molson, BCS’54; and, most recently, the two pivotal headships (2012-2015 and 2019-2020) of William Mitchell, BCS’63. Just as the family has been a respected model of Townships family values for generations, so is the residence bearing their name.

Mitchell Family House officially opened its doors in September 2019, welcoming students for the 2019-2020 school year.

Ross House was named to honour one of the most influential individuals in BCS history, Commander John Kenneth Leveson Ross.

Ross was a BCS student from 1886-1891 and a prefect in his final year. A long time benefactor of BCS, Ross returned in a different leadership role in 1914, as Chairman of the Board. During his eight year chairmanship, he was instrumental in separating BCS from Bishop’s University, paying off the school’s deficit and securing ownership on four hundred acres of farmlands and dwellings on the right bank of the St. Francis River—where BCS is situated to this day.

Under his supervision and leadership, School House, the dining hall (now known as ‘Ross Hall’ in honour of his contributions to BCS), and Prep House (now known as Glass House) were all built on the new Moulton Hill campus. These new buildings were officially opened on June 27, 1918 by the Governor General of Canada and the Duke of Devonshire.

Smith House, named after Mr. S. Percy Smith, was built in 1948, making it one of the oldest buildings on campus. Smith joined the BCS community in 1910, leaving the school to join the war effort in 1916. He returned to BCS as a Housemaster for one year before becoming Headmaster in 1920. For 11 years, Smith steered the school as its Head and took the school from the Bishop’s University campus to the current location. Smith House is one of the first buildings one sees after crossing the St. Francis River, and its lawn is always abuzz with activities like BBQs and basketball games.

From Old Boy to teacher to Headmaster, Mr. Smith always put education first during his tenure. So much so that even when he became Headmaster, he didn’t let go of any of his teaching responsibilities. Ever present, Mr. Smith never missed a first team game as he considered physical activities, like hockey, a priority. In 1926, he built Memorial Arena to honour the Old Boys who fell in the First World War. The rink is now part of his legacy at BCS. In June 1929, he received D.C.L. (Honoris Causa) from Bishop’s University in appreciation of his service to education.

Williams House has had several names over the years: Standish House, Wilkie’s House, Waddie’s House, and Pop Page’s House. It was eventually determined that it would be known as Williams House—named in honour of BCS’ fifth Headmaster, Reverend James W. Williams. Williams served the BCS community as Headmaster from 1857 to 1863, when he was appointed the fourth Bishop of Quebec. Years later, his son, Lennox, would become the sixth Bishop of Quebec.

During his lifetime, Reverend, and then Bishop, Williams participated vigorously in the development of the Protestant public school system in Quebec and collaborated with Sir Alexander Galt in drawing up Section 93 of the British North American Act (Constitution Act, 1867), which conferred upon Parliament the responsibility of protecting the educational rights of minorities.