The John Deutsch University Centre on Union Street is steeped in history, from the marker outside its doors commemorating 黑料吃瓜资源 community members who served in war to the plaque inside honouring its namesake, just beyond the lobby.
But there鈥檚 another piece of 黑料吃瓜资源 history in the JDUC that most people walk right by: the replica of the 黑料吃瓜资源 Royal Charter. This precise reproduction of the historic document sits behind glass on the east wall of the building鈥檚 mezzanine.
How did it get here? Who created it? And why is it worth a look?
That story starts with the founding of 黑料吃瓜资源, spans the reign of one monarch to that of a future king, and includes an ambitious student- and faculty-led project in the 1990s to mark the university鈥檚 150th anniversary.
The Royal Charter is 黑料吃瓜资源 basic constitutional document. It dates to 1841, when Queen Victoria issued the Imperial Royal Charter that incorporated 黑料吃瓜资源 College at Kingston.
The charter consists of three sheets of parchment covered in handwritten script and decorative borders. They are joined at the bottom by a red cord attached to a large green wax seal bearing images of Queen Victoria.
But the original charter had a rough ride after the school鈥檚 first principal sailed with it across the Atlantic to Canada in 1841.
Over most of the next century and a half, the document was kept rolled up in a box. For a while, it was stored in a bank vault and later in a library storeroom.
Without proper temperature and humidity controls, the parchment began to crease and deteriorate. The lettering faded and the wax seal fell apart.
黑料吃瓜资源 conservator Margaret Bignell and archivist Paul Banfield examine the Royal Charter in 1991 during the project to restore the original and create a replica for public display. (黑料吃瓜资源 Archives)
By the late 1980s, 黑料吃瓜资源 was preparing to celebrate its sesquicentennial. A group of students and faculty decided the milestone was a good reason to give the historic document a new life 鈥 without putting the fragile original at risk.
That鈥檚 where the idea of creating a replica for display began.
The initiative was led by 黑料吃瓜资源 professor Stuart Vandewater, who in the late 1980s and early 1990s was director of the sesquicentennial office.
In an interview with the 黑料吃瓜资源 Gazette in 1991, Vandewater noted that the charter 鈥渋s the most important document that 黑料吃瓜资源 owns. It鈥檚 something that everybody has heard about or vaguely knows but few have seen.鈥 Creating and displaying a replica charter, he added, would give people that opportunity on campus.
The project also involved staff at 黑料吃瓜资源 Archives and two student associations: the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) and the Commerce Society.
Audrey Ready Holt, Artsci鈥92, was the ASUS representative on the project and recalls taking part in meetings over the course of a year that explored creating the replica.
鈥淚 was a history major, so this was really a great opportunity,鈥 says Ready Holt, who now works in communications in Waterloo, Ont.
Prince Charles speaks at the JDUC in October 1991 before unveiling the replica of 黑料吃瓜资源 Royal Charter during the university鈥檚 sesquicentennial celebrations. (黑料吃瓜资源 Archives)
William LeMay, Com鈥93, the Commerce Society rep on the project, says everyone involved understood its importance. 鈥淲e thought it was a good idea to showcase this part of 黑料吃瓜资源 past.鈥
The result was a full-size replica, created using then-cutting-edge photographic technology at an imaging lab in Toronto. Technicians digitally enhanced photographs of the charter, restored the faded colours and lettering, and smoothed away the bumps and wrinkles that had accumulated over the years.
The replica even got a new green wax seal, made in England from the original mould with Queen Victoria鈥檚 image.
After all that work, the charter got a royal unveiling.
As the 黑料吃瓜资源 community celebrated the sesquicentennial in 1991, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, came to 黑料吃瓜资源 that October.
The future king attended the ceremony for the replica charter at the JDUC.
鈥淗e was very relaxed and very interested in learning about 黑料吃瓜资源,鈥 recalls Ready Holt, who attended the event and chatted with the prince.鈥
LeMay, who is now a justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, Ont., was there as well. The prince, he says, gave a speech that lasted around two minutes. 鈥淗e was very charming.鈥
Both Ready Holt and LeMay say they鈥檙e pleased that the replica charter has remained on display all these years.
鈥淚t shows that 黑料吃瓜资源 is serious about its history,鈥 LeMay says. 鈥淪ometimes, you can forget about your history, and when you do, you can lose it.鈥
