About Us & the Inn
We bought the Briarcliffe Inn in June 2014 moving from Milton Keynes, England. Malcolm is a Brit and
Carrie is a Canadian, and Prince Edward Island is pretty much in the geographical middle of both of our
families.
We fell in love with the inn at first sight and are proud of its history and heritage.
The land that the Briarcliffe Inn is built on first belonged to Alexander Anderson. Anderson was granted
a large parcel of land at Salutation Cove by King George III of England for his support & loyalty during the
American Revolutionary War. Alexander Anderson is reputed to have lived for 106 years!
The land then became subdivided into farms, with Donald MacFarlane buying a substantial portion in
1799. Donald, his wife and their 11 children turned the property into fertile farmland. Donald was also a
shipbuilder and Member of the Provincial Legislature. He died in 1843 leaving the property to his youngest son, Malcolm, When Malcolm died he left the farm to his youngest son, George.
In 1914, George’s son Edwin built a new home beside his parent’s home for his young bride Fedrica Leard.
Fedrica had lived in the Bedeque area .......
Edwin continued to farm the land and became very prosperous. The farm was diversified having beef
cattle, a dairy herd, pedigree horses, a blacksmith shop and a milking parlour. (The old milking parlour
is now our shed!)
The MacFarlane’s were also one of many island families involved in silver fox farming. Silver foxes were first bred on Prince Edward Island in the late 19th Century and silver fox farming was an important source of income in the first half of the 20th Century. Some of the old fox pens still stand in the woods on the back of the property.
When no children came into their lives, Fedrica decided to open up the house as a tourist home. She
named it The Briarcliffe after their Scottish heritage, and the wild rose briars that grew in the woods and
along the shore of Salutation Cove. White and pink wild roses still grow on the property today.
The Briarcliffe Tourist Home became a popular destination and hosted many of Fernwood’s banquets,
weddings and afternoon teas. The famous Prince Edward Island author, Lucy Maud Montgomery would
likely have been a guest here, having known Fedrica since she was a young girl. Lucy Maud Montgomery
boarded with the Leard family when she taught at the Lower Bedeque School in 1897.
When Edwin and Fedrica retired in the late 1950s they sold the portion of the farm with the Briarcliffe to
Larry Sudbury. The Briarcliffe then became a large family home. A recent guest to the inn recalls dating
one of the Sudbury daughters back when the house was painted white, and had a balcony above the
front door.
Once their children were grown and had moved away, the Sudbury’s sold the home to Mary Alice
Mulligan. She used the home as an island getaway but unfortunately wasn’t able to visit as frequently as
she hoped and the house fell into despair.
Luckily, Mary and Bill Kendrick saw the potential of restoring the house to its original glory and
bought the property in 2001. Their renovations are well documented:
Harrowsmith Magazine article
Bed & Breakfast Dream - HGTV
Like Edwin & Fedrica, the time came for Mary & Bill to retire from running the inn, and that’s when we
came along.
We enjoy meeting people from all around the world, and desire the quieter island lifestyle.
We bring with us a variety of work and life experiences combined with a high degree of optimism and
creativity – definite necessities for running a B&B.
We loved the inn from the first time we saw it on the internet, and this love has strengthened since
taking ownership. We are proud of the Briarcliffe’s history within PEI and the community and look
forward to continuing to nurture and maintain this beautiful property and historic home.