"The Manse", 59 Hawthorne Street, c. 1874

59 Hawthorne Street originally served as Antigonish's Presbyterian Manse. Its first occupant was the Rev. Peter Goodfellow. In October 1872, the congregation undertook to defray the costs of the new manse by raising monies through subscription, the Ladies' Tea Meeting, and the sale of the "School House Lot" and the old manse. This frame structure, built in c. 1874, has some of the stylistic hallmarks of Gothic Revival, most notably the steeply pitched gable roof. With its multiple dormers, central frontispiece and one-storey porch, the house is also characteristic of the late phase of Gothic Revival with its greater complexity of forms. However, the house is a somewhat chaste example of the Gothic sensibility. Its formal symmetry and emphasis on rectangular line are basically classical in spirit. Moreover, save for the hooded windows, 59 Hawthorne lacks the quintessentially Gothic ornamentation which is so fanciful and exuberant. Perhaps such detailing was deemed too frivolous for a Presbyterian manse. Classical tastes were still the "guiding force" behind the designing and decoration of Presbyterian churches and manses at this time.

The plain exterior, however, belies its more elegant interior. The entrance way, which is approximately 12 feet in height, the wide stairway, the ceiling medallions, hardwood floors and the Italian marble fireplace imbue the house with a gracious formality.

Michelle Murray

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