Murphy's Inn

MURPHY’S INN

Larry’s River, Nova Scotia, Canada

902-497-8687

Murphy’s Inn, Bed and Breakfast, is located by the river in the historic Acadian fishing village of Larry’s River, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Canada. We are in the Tor Bay region of Guysborough County, which includes the villages of Larry’s River, Tor Bay, Charlos Cove, Port Felix, and New Harbour. Come and enjoy the serenity of this photographer or painter’s dream.

A HEARTY SERVED BREAKFAST IS INCLUDED IN THE ROOM PRICE. AT AN ADDITIONAL COST, WE NOW HAVE THE OPTION OF SERVING AN EVENING MEAL FOR OUR GUESTS. ALL EVENING MEALS HAVE A WELL-APPOINTED VARIETY OF HEALTHY HOME-COOKED OPTIONS.

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A Brief History of this House: Before 1928, the property was owned by Benjamin and Mary Alice Gerrior. In December of 1928, they sold the property to Benjamin Avery, formally of Larry’s River, but then lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He intended to retire and move back home and live there. We understand that Benjamin A. arranged to have George Martell, a builder from L’Ardoise, Richmond County, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, build this house. In 1921, at age 26, Martell was engaged as a carpenter in the reconstruction of houses in areas of Halifax devastated by the Halifax Explosion of 1917.  It is likely that he not only applied his existing skills there but also acquired many new ones.  Such craftsmanship is evident in our inn’s impressive wood finishing and plasterwork.   

Benjamin Avery never got to live in this house, and it sat vacant.

What sort of house is this? The American Four-Square design was common to various urban centres, especially Cambridge, Mass. It was also common to assemble ‘Kit Houses’.  While we cannot confirm that our house, Murphy’s Inn, is a ‘Kit House’, it has most of the design characteristics in such products. Sears and Roebuck’s corporation was one of the leaders in such kits.  They produced precut, ready-to-assemble homes called ‘Kit Homes’. They were constructed of Southern Yellow Pine and delivered to the site by rail and water.  

In March of 1938, Benjamin Avery sold the house to William and Jennie Murphy. As far as we know, they did not live in the house, but it remained with the Murphy family of Larry’s River. 

William died in 1951, and in July of 1955, Jennie donated the house to the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame as a residence for them while they taught at the local schools in Larry’s River and Charlos Cove.  The sisters were also involved in numerous other activities in these communities. This house became the Mount Carmel Convent. They remained in this house until 2006. Locally, it was known as “The Convent”.

In November of 2018, we purchased the house from the Murphy family.  In honour of Jennie Murphy’s donation of the house to the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame and their subsequent fifty years of service provided to Larry’s River and Charlos Cove, we named our bed and breakfast Murphy’s Inn. 

We undertook a substantial nine-month renovation to transform the house into a four-bedroom Bed and Breakfast. All guest rooms now feature queen-size beds, satellite flat-screen TVs and complimentary free Wi-Fi. Our first-floor guest room has a full private bath.  On the second floor, one guest room has a full private bath, and two have half baths with access to full shower facilities on the same floor.

Rates include a full home-style hot breakfast, free parking, and excellent evening meal options at extra cost, which are now available upon request. We also have a small garage on-site with tools for travelling motorcyclists and bicyclists.  Nearby Access to our scenic river allows you to use your canoe, kayak or rowboat.