Monthly Archives: January 2017

Original speaker’s chair coming to Cobourg in February

This is the original speaker’s chair for the Canadian Parliament in 1867, used by the Honourable James Cockburn. It was bought for the Province of Canada in 1863 and moved to Ottawa after Confederation. It was used until 1873 when it was replaced. It is made of Walnut with velvet seat covers. The design is Gothic, meant to match the architecture of the building. Cockburn kept the chair when he retired and remained within the family until it was donated by his great-granddaughter, Helen Sprott in 1983. This chair will be displayed in the James Cockburn Room of Victoria Hall. For more information, check out these two news stories from Northumberland Today and Northumberland News.

James Cockburn’s chair will be on display in Cobourg

We are so excited about this news! Thanks to Northumberland Today for this great article: “COBOURG – Cobourg expects many visitors during Canada’s sesquicentennial year, but few so distinguished as an inanimate one from Ottawa — the actual chair James Cockburn sat in during his time in the House of Commons.

And since this particular Father of Confederation practiced in Cobourg during his early career, the loan of the chair by the Federal government for display in Victoria Hall seems appropriate.” more…