Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

Blundon House was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1997 because of its aesthetic, historic and cultural value.

Blundon House has aesthetic value as it is a good example of merchant class housing. Constructed in the late 1800s, the exterior accents and ornate detailing set this house apart from others in the community and speak to its ownership by an upper class family.

Blundon House has historic value because it is the last remaining merchant house in Bay De Verde and one of only a few on the lower North Shore of Conception Bay. It is associated with the Blundon family and their role as merchants in the community. The original owner John Blundon, was a successful local merchant who owned several schooners involved in coastal trade. His son James, who was also a merchant, lived in the house as well.

Blundon House has cultural value as it is representative of a particular time and place. In a community context it is a physical reminder of class distinctions in the late 1800s and early 1900s in outport Newfoundland. The house was designed with a separate servants’ quarters, a tangible physical demarcation highlighting the differences in the lifestyle between that of merchant and employee.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Bay De Verde – Blundon House – FPT 1427”

Character Defining Elements

All those architectural features which speak to the age, construction and prominent local design of a merchant’s dwelling, such as:
-gable-ell plan;
-number of storeys;
-gable roof with kicked eaves;
-narrow wooden clapboard;
-five-sided porch with gable roof and bay windows;
-location of porch on front facade;
-wooden window size, style, trim and placement;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden exterior doors;
-detailing on wooden raincaps and wooden cornerboards;
-style and placement of chimneys; and
-location and orientation of building.

Community

Bay de Verde

Municipality

Town of Bay de Verde

Civic Address

007 Blundon's Point

Construction (circa)

1896 - 1896

Builder

John Blundon

Style

L - Shape