The History of the Woodshire Inn

Godfrey Philip Payzant is credited with constructing what has come to be known as 494 King Street in Windsor, Nova Scotia: The Woodshire Inn and Cocoa Pesto Bistro. He was born in 1814 to a family of French and New English descent. Mr. Payzant was a prominent and instrumental member of the Windsor community. He began as a successful grocer and became an outstanding entrepreneur, involved with The Windsor Fire Insurance Company, The Windsor Gas Company, and The Windsor Cotton Mill Company and became the President of The Commercial Bank of Windsor. When he died in 1896, he donated a generous sum of money to the building of a new public hospital for Windsor. Previously, only one hospital had existed in the province. His descendents lived in the home for many more years. The spectacular building was known as The Paulin Residence.

Following the year of Payzant’s death, The Great Fire of 1897 took a devastating toll on Windsor. Four fifths of the town was destroyed. The Paulin Residence was miraculously spared demise due to the diligent efforts of firefighters and volunteers alike. Across the road, to the south of what was formerly known as Chapel Lane (today Albert Street), The Catholic Chapel burned to the ground. What remains today are the headstones from the original cemetery and the new place of worship: St. John’s Catholic Church, built from stone, stands on King Street. For many years between the 1950s and mid 1970s, 494 King Street housed the extraordinary Sherwood Inn. It is rumored to have been a place of elegant distinction, sophisticated service and fine food.

We welcome any and all recounts that guests and former visitors to the Sherwood Inn would like to share with us … we intend to create a section of this site exclusively for these memories to be shared.