Description of Historic Place

The Connell House is an asymmetrical two-storey Queen Anne Revival residence constructed of textured concrete blocks. Constructed in 1910, this residence is situated on the south side of Water Street within the Historic Water Street District in the City of Miramichi.

Heritage Value

The Connell House is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture. The significance of Connell House rests in the building materials used to construct this home for local merchant Martin Connell. Newcastle builder James P. Forrest had ventured into constructing homes of concrete blocks that his work crew produced. Local newspapers of the day received detailed information from the builder during construction as he tried to introduce and promote this building material to the local area as an economical form of house construction, as compared to the use of wood. Unfortunately for Mr. Forrest, the concept did not take off and the Connell House is one of only a few local homes built of this material. Although he used a relatively new residential building material, the design of the house is a good example of Queen Anne Revival architecture from the early 20th century. This style is evident in such elements as the multiple bays that create an asymmetrical massing, the hipped roof and the pediments.

Source: City of Miramichi, Heritage Office, Beaverbrook House, - Site File #08-100

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements relating to the architecture of the Connell House include:
- two-storey asymmetrical massing;
- constructed of locally made textured concrete blocks;
- quoins, gables and belt course of smooth concrete blocks;
- hipped roof;
- two-storey cut-away bay on the west façade topped with a pediment and adorned with woodwork and pendants;
- two-storey bay on the east façade topped with a pediment;
- two-storey open veranda supported by fluted columnar concrete blocks on the first level and wooden Doric columns on the second storey;
- Craftsman-style windows on the front façade;
- imbalanced front façade created by an off-centre entrance and a two-storey bay topped by a pediment;
- situated on narrow lot.