St. Dunstan’s School, located on Regent Street in the downtown core, was built in 1910 by Msgr. Frederick Carney, a long time Pastor of St. Dunstan’s Parish (1901-1941) and Most Rev. Timothy Casey, Bishop of Saint John (1901-1912) and a former pastor of St. Dunstan’s Parish (1897-1901). An addition was constructed onto the back of the original school in 1954 which tripled the number of classrooms and also provided a gymnasium. Although the school was built by St. Dunstan’s Parish, it was immediately leased to the local school board (January 1, 1911) and remained leased to the various levels of government responsible for education in New Brunswick. The school was closed by the Department of Education in June 1999 and the final lease expired December 31, 1999.
The building and property was sold to Wil-Com Ltd. who converted the building into 42 apartments, primarily for seniors. In a March 6, 2000 press release, Msgr. Brian H. Henneberry was quoted as saying “We know that ‘St. Dunstan’s School’ holds a lot of memories for many Frederictonians and it’s reassuring to know that it will remain an historical landmark in Downtown Fredericton.” The building is now known as “Lion’s Gate”.
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