Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

The Ashbourne Longhouse has been designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador because of its aesthetic, historic and cultural value.

The Ashbourne Longhouse is one of the oldest private residences in Twillingate, and possibly on the island. Constructed in the early 1800s, its series of owners were influential in the economic and political evolution of the province. William Menchinton, the first owner of the property from 1800-1852, operated a large mercantile establishment in Twillingate. Edwin Duder Sr., the owner of a St. John’s-based mercantile firm, purchased Menchinton’s premises in Twillingate in 1852. His son Edwin Jr. took over the firm upon his father’s death in 1881. Duder’s company was very successful and his presence in Twillingate speaks to the community’s significant role in the fishing industry of the time. After Duder’s firm was brought to ruin by the Bank Crash of 1894, William Ashbourne, a prominent Twillingate merchant, bought the property in 1897. Ashbourne outfitted schooners participating in the Labrador fishery and the seal hunt and exported fish and seal products. William’s son Thomas inherited the house following his father’s death in 1922. Thomas Ashbourne was active in Newfoundland politics, beginning as an M.H.A. in the 1920s and eventually travelling with Joey Smallwood to Ottawa as a delegate for the National Convention in 1947 . Following Confederation with Canada, he went on to represent the Twillingate area in the House of Commons. Thomas Ashbourne died in 1984. The property remains under the ownership of Ashbourne descendants.

The structure is a unique example of Georgian-inspired, merchant-class housing in Newfoundland. The “longhouse” style of construction is seldom seen in the province. Its scale was achieved through additions to a much smaller residence some time before 1897; evidence of a previous roof uncovered during restoration in the 1990s suggests that the original gabled house was much smaller. The physical grandness of the house is tempered by the symmetrical, unornamented facade. This creates the Georgian sense of order and simplicity. An elaborately-trimmed veranda, which ran the length of the building’s front wall, was added later, likely in the early 1880s. The set of french doors on the front of the building would have accessed this veranda, while the french doors on the building’s west wall led to an enclosed conservatory. Neither the veranda nor the conservatory remain on the existing structure. The interior features several fireplace mantels of imported marble, which speak not only to the status of the various merchant families residing in this building, but to Twillingate’s connections with international trade networks and cultural trends.

The Ashbourne Longhouse, along with the adjacent Ashbourne Shop and Office buildings, represents only part of a larger merchant premises that once included stores, a lumber yard and wharf access. The Ashbourne properties are physical reminders of Twillingate’s history as a vibrant and prosperous port town driven by the fishing and shipping industries. Merchants like the Ashbournes were at the heart of these industries, and were central figures in the social, economic and political life of Newfoundland throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Twillingate – Ashbourne Longhouse – FPT 1314”

Character Defining Elements

All those elements that define the building’s Georgian design including:

-general massing of two-and-a-half storey longhouse structure;
-symmetrical Georgian facade;
-mid pitch roof;
-wooden roof shingles;
-narrow white wooden clapboard;
-wooden corner boards;
-open hearth fireplace;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden single hung, 6/6 windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of exterior wooden wooden storm doors;
-size, style trim and placement of exterior wooden french doors;
-size, style and placement of three chimneys;
-wood post foundation;
-wooden skirting, and;
-dimensions of building.

All those elements that relate to the building’s history as part of a merchant premises, including:

-prominent location of building in the community;
-proximity to and visibility from the water;
-location of building on the property, and;
-proximity to other historic buildings that make up the Ashbourne Premises complex.

Community

Twillingate

Municipality

Town of Twillingate

Civic Address

Main Street

Construction (circa)

1799 - 1801

Style

Rectangular Long Façade