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Tilley House National Historic Site of Canada

66 Front Street, Gagetown, New Brunswick, E5M, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1965/05/17

General view of Tilley House, showing the one-and-a-half-storey massing under a front-sloped pitched roof with twin chimneys, 1987.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 1987.
General view
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Other Name(s)

Tilley House National Historic Site of Canada
Queens County Museum
Queens County Museum

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1790/01/01 to 1810/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/06/12

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Tilley House National Historic Site of Canada is a one-and-a-half-storey clapboard house located on a spacious lot in the town of Gagetown, New Brunswick. It is believed to be the birthplace of Father of Confederation Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, who lived in the house until he was thirteen years old. Typical of houses built in the 1780s in the Maritimes, it owes its hewn timber-frame construction to the Loyalist building tradition. The designation refers to the house and its legal lot.

Heritage Value

Tilley House was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1965 because:
- it was the birthplace and boyhood home of Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, Father of Confederation.

It is believed that Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (1818 - 1896) was born in this house. Originally built for a Dr. Stickles, probably in the late eighteenth century, the house was purchased by Samuel Tilley, Sir Leonard's great grandfather in 1805. It was considerably enlarged about the time that Sir Leonard Tilley left in the 1830s, with an addition to the north side and alterations to the original south end. By 1897, the house had been converted for use as a hotel. It is now managed by the Queens County Museum.

Sir Leonard Tilley spent his boyhood in this house, leaving Gagetown for work in Saint John at the age of thirteen. By 1850 he had entered politics, serving as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saint John, later Member of Parliament for Saint John and eventually Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick and a federal cabinet minister. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1879.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, May 1965, July 2005.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this site include:
- its siting, slightly back from one of the town's original streets;
- the one-and-a-half-storey massing under a front-sloped pitched roof with twin chimneys;
- the timber-frame construction and wood cladding;
- surviving evidence of the 1818 to 1831 layout, detailing, and finishes.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1965/05/17

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1818/01/01 to 1831/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

180

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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