Description of Historic Place

Le Boutillier Manor National Historic Site of Canada stands sentinel at Anse-au-Griffon in the Gaspé region of Quebec. The Manor, characterized by its appearance and style, as well as its construction and building materials, is a fine example of 19th-century vernacular architecture in Quebec. The house has a symmetrical façade, a gable roof and an upturned, bell-cast eave that evokes an attractive and harmonious whole. Official recognition refers to the building, a barn and the land on which these two structures are located.

Heritage Value

Le Boutillier Manor was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1975 for the following reasons:
- this elegant house is a fine example of neo-classical influence on Québécois architecture.

Built between 1850 and 1860, Le Boutillier Manor clearly stands out from the simple fishermen’s houses found along the Gaspé coast. It was the second home of businessman, politician and magistrate John Le Boutillier, as well as an office for the managers of his fishing outport at Anse-au-Griffon. The house has a bell-cast eave and a neo-classically inspired design, expressed in its elegant shapes, symmetrically organized façade and uncluttered interior decor. The bell-cast eave of this attractive and unusual manor makes it an example of a particular style of Quebec vernacular architecture, of which very few examples have survived.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, 1975; Plaque Text, 2000.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this site are:
- its location on an open piece of land in Anse-au-Griffon, overlooking the village;
- its rectangular, two-and-a-half-storey massing with a gable roof with dormers and a projecting bell-cast eave;
- its masonry construction, resting on a stone foundation covered with shingles, braced on the inside by a timber formwork filled with earth;
- its neo-classically inspired, symmetrically organized façade with wood cladding, the casement windows with shutters, the large, railed gallery, and the main entrance with fanlight and sidelights;
- its original interior layout and plan;
- its uncluttered interior decor, delicately embellished with carvings;
- its original, understated interior finishings, including the floors, walls and partitions made of pine planks;
- its large central spiral staircase;
- the barn, its location adjacent to the manor, its construction, its siting, and its massing;
- the viewscapes of Anse-au-Griffon from the house.