Our Lady of Mercy Museum (Father Greene’s House) is a one-and-three-quarter storey, vernacular Cape Cod style building with a sunporch. Constructed in 1952, it is located in Port au Port West, NL, next to Our Lady of Mercy RC Church. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Formal Recognition Type
Registered Heritage Structure
Heritage Value
Our Lady of Mercy Museum (Father Greene’s House) was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2024 because of its aesthetic, historic, and cultural value.
Our Lady of Mercy Museum (Father Greene’s House) was built in 1952 under the direction of Parish Priest Father Robert J. Greene for use as a rectory. It displays many characteristics of Cape Cod style homes built around the mid nineteenth century, including its general massing, the steep gable roof, and the front facing dormers. The dormers are unique in that they protrude out from the wall rather than being in line with the wall or placed back on the roof. As such, they are a combination of a dormer and a bay. The sunporch on the left and front facades elevates the design beyond a basic Cape Cod home. It runs the full length of two facades and utilizes single-hung windows with a diamond pattern on the top panes. This diamond pattern is repeated in the sidelights and transoms around the two porch entrances. Most windows on the remainder of the building are also single-hung in a 3/1 pattern. The pediment topping the dormers is repeated above both porch entrances. Undoubtedly, the building is a mixture of stylistic elements preferred by Father Greene and combined to meet his tastes and needs.
Our Lady of Mercy Museum (Father Greene’s House) has historic value due to its association with Our Lady of Mercy Parish and long-serving Parish Priest Father Robert J. Greene. Born in Placentia in 1905, Father Greene was appointed to Port au Port West in 1944. He would spend 30 years in the community. During his time in Port au Port, Father Greene initiated the establishment of a Presentation convent, reformed and centralized the local Roman Catholic educational system, introduced a school bus service, and undertook building projects in the parish, including the new rectory in which he would live. Some residents of Port au Port West will remember going to the rectory to see their exam marks posted in the sunporch windows. Father Greene also kept the sunporch filled with plants that he tended, particularly African violets. Father Greene stayed in Port au Port West until his retirement in 1974. Following his retirement, he continued to assist with some services in Port au Port West, including marriages and funerals. After Father Greene’s retirement, the parish was administered from Port au Port East and the building was no longer used as a rectory. It was rented out for housing until the early 1990s.
Our Lady of Mercy Museum (Father Greene’s House) has cultural value as it has been the site of a community museum since 1992. Kathleen Abbott was instrumental in founding the committee that established the museum and she served as its first chairperson. Kathleen spent countless hours volunteering at the museum. Interpretation and curated displays tell the story of the Aguathuna limestone quarry and a predicted boom to the local area that didn’t quite happen. Also highlighted are the lives and stories of miners, fishers, business owners, religious orders, and school teachers. The museum also houses a tearoom and a craft shop featuring work from local artisans.
Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Port au Port West – Our Lady of Mercy Museum (Father Greene’s House) – FPT 3770”
Character Defining Elements
All original features which relate to the vernacular Cape Cod style of the building, including:
-number of storeys;
-steeply pitched roof;
-size, style and placement of chimney;
-return on the eaves;
-narrow wooden clapboard;
-all wooden exterior trims and details;
-two large pedimented dormers on front façade;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden dormer windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of sunporch on left and front facades;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden windows in the sunporch;
-size, style, trim and placement of sidelights and transoms around porch doors;
-size, style, trim and placement of all other wooden windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of exterior wooden doors;
-size, style, trim and placement of porch on rear facade;
-building dimensions, location and orientation.
Google map
Our Lady of Mercy Heritage Church & Complex Website
