Located along Lincoln Road and overlooking the Exploits River, Grand Falls House is one of the most recognized properties in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL. A two-and-one-half storey building built in the Tudor Revival style, it was designed by British architect Robert Douglas Wells and built in 1909 under the supervision of Tom Brown of New Harbour, Trinity Bay. The designation includes Grand Falls House and surrounding property.
Formal Recognition Type
Registered Heritage Structure
Heritage Value
Grand Falls House was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023 due to its historic, cultural and aesthetic value.
Grand Falls House has historic value due to its connection to the establishment of Grand Falls-Windsor and as one of the oldest original buildings in the town. Settlement in Grand Falls (and in neighbouring Windsor) began with the incorporation of the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company in 1905. With the threat of war in Europe, the Harmsworths, a British family who ran a newspaper empire, began to search for additional sources of newsprint. Their mill at Grand Falls officially opened on October 9, 1909 and the company town quickly expanded. Grand Falls House was constructed during the spring and summer of 1909 to serve as the official town residence of Alfred Harmsworth, also known as Lord Northcliffe, who was one of the founders of the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company. It later became the official home of the mill manager and served as a company guesthouse. Grand Falls House is located on one of the first roads constructed through the town, the layout of which was influenced by the Garden City movement. The construction of the house was completed in just over two months.
Grand Falls House has cultural value as it conveys a sense of a time and place associated with the founding of the town as an industrial centre. The opening of the pulp and paper mill in Grand Falls was a milestone for the Dominion of Newfoundland, signalling a new era of industrial development. What had been a hinterland was quickly developing into a thriving community. The Harmsworths were creating a town amid wilderness. The grandeur of Grand Fall House reflects an optimism for the future of this development. As a result of the success of the mill, and the status of the Harmsworth family, Grand Falls House also played host to pulp and paper executives, publishers, business people, politicians and other dignitaries from around the world, adding to the cosmopolitan mystique of the new town.
Grand Falls House has aesthetic value as a fine example of the Tudor Revival style. This style gained popularity in England during the mid to late 1800s and later became an accepted style in other countries, particularly those within the British Commonwealth. While often employed on grander buildings, the Tudor Revival style is meant to imitate the architectural simplicity of a rustic country cottage. The style features such details as steeply pitched roofs with kicked eaves, half timbering, high chimneys, large overhanging eaves, multipaned windows and dormers – all elements that have been employed on the façade of Grand Falls House. Environmentally, the property is located on one of the main streets in the town and its landscaped lot contains many mature birch trees. It also overlooks the Exploits River, which can be directly accessed from the property.
Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Grand Falls-Windsor – Grand Falls House – FPT NL-5340”
Character Defining Elements
All features that add to its historical, cultural and aesthetic values, including:
-all those exterior features that are representative of the Tudor Revival style of architecture (including steeply pitched roofs with kicked eaves, half timbering, high chimneys, large overhanging eaves, multipaned windows and dormers);
-number of storeys;
-multi-gabled roof;
-original exterior sheathing;
-original size, style, trim and placement of windows;
-original size, style, trim and placement of exterior doors;
-building placement, orientation, height, massing and dimensions;
-name of building;
-visibility on Lincoln Road;
-viewscape to and from Exploits River;
-association with the Harmsworth family;
-open, undeveloped space around Grand Fall House;
-mature birch trees;
-continued access to the Exploits River.