Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

Landfall was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1988 due to its historic and aesthetic value.

Landfall was built in the late 1700s or early 1800s by either the Pomeroy or Norman families. While the Pomeroys are known to have lived there for much of the 19th century, an early survey instead records the Normans as the owners of the northernmost plantation. This period of construction places Landfall among the earliest structures in the province.

Despite roughly 200 years of history, Landfall is perhaps most significant for its use in the 20th century. American painter Rockwell Kent rented Landfall in 1914, restoring and expanding it in anticipation of the arrival of his family. Kent was drawn to coastal landscapes and found Landfall’s isolation and scenic setting ideal. The house is featured in Kent’s work, including his 1915 painting “House of Dread,” and some of his decorative work remains on interior doors and mantels. Less than two years after his arrival, however, Kent was deported by local authorities on suspicion of wartime espionage. In 1927 Landfall was purchased by English engineer and artist Albert Edward Harris of the Anglo Newfoundland Development Company, Grand Falls, who retired there in 1930. Harris was a founding member of the Newfoundland Society of Art and is best known for his etchings and watercolours of Conception Bay, Brigus, and the cottage, which he named “Kent Cottage” after the English county. Harris died in Brigus in 1933. In 1953 the cottage was purchased by American educator and amateur artist Bradley Jacob “Jake” Folensbee for use as a summer home. Folensbee, recognizing Lanfall’s unique setting, purchased surrounding property to create a protective buffer and, upon his death in 2004, bequeathed the property to the Landfall Historic Trust of Brigus. The Trust continues to offer residencies for working artists, writers, and musicians at Landfall.

Physical evidence suggests that Landfall evolved in several distinct phases of construction and use. Full-studding (the use of side by side vertical framing members), visible in the original west wall, indicates that the roof was once approximately two feet lower, and seams in the interior cladding suggest the easternmost bay was an addition – likely in the mid-1800s. A small shed or porch had been added to the east side by Kent’s arrival and Kent himself added a studio and second-floor bedroom to Landfall’s west end. Harris further expanded the house, adding the washroom wing, a dormer window in the attic, and several single-pane wood windows on the north side. Folensbee committed the last major changes, recladding the structure in wood shingles, installing a rough wood shake roof, and adding a large picture window to the facade.

Landfall sits on the steep north side of Brigus Harbour. This area is known as the Battery for its purported use as a gun battery during King George’s War, and also as Freshwater for its use as a water source for sealing fleets on their way to the ice floes. The natural and built landscape surrounding Landfall adds greatly to the bucolic qualities of the property, with terraced stone walls behind the cottage and descending down to the water and a small waterfall behind the house. A variety of imported trees include beech, apple, and pear.

Historically there were other structures in the vicinity, including the homes of prominent local families the Normans and Mundens, however Landfall is the only building remaining. Although visible from Brigus Harbour, Landfall is distant from the rest of the community and sheltered by trees. This relative isolation speaks to the building’s appeal as an artists’ retreat throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first century.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Brigus – Landfall (Kent Cottage) – FPT 1442”

Character Defining Elements

All elements that define the aesthetic value of Landfall including:
– prominent location on coastline;
– unimpeded view of Atlantic Ocean; and
– view of Brigus.

All those architectural elements that relate to the general size and shape of the early 19th century residence, including:
– four-fifths Georgian facade;
– west end studio added by Rockwell Kent;
– north bathroom extension added by A. E. Harris;
– early 3/6 wood windows;
– thick wood panel door;
– assortment of fixed, casement, and banked windows on the rear;
– steep pitch roof with wood shingles;
– the location of the cottage on the hillside; and
– the size and orientation of the cottage with respect to the water and Brigus.

All interior elements that relate to past residents and alterations including:
– paintings by Rockwell Kent on door panels and mantels;
– wide plank wood floors and walls;
– full-studding visible in the original west end wall;
– location of chimneys and fireplaces on the end walls;
– widely spaced joists with finished edges;
– all early wood doors;
– trim of different periods speaking to changes in the structure;
– current plan and ghost marks indicating plan changes.

All landscape elements that speak to use of the property over time including:
– beech, apple, pear, and lilac trees;
– dry-laid stone walls creating a terraced slope to the water;
– waterfall and stone-lined stream running along the west wall of the cottage; and
– wood-framed carriage house built by A.E. Harris.

Community

Brigus

Municipality

Town of Brigus

Civic Address

Brigus Battery

Construction (circa)

1790 - 1810

Builder

Pomeroy

Style

T - Shape