Description of Historic Place

Elhatton’s Funeral Home is a two-storey brick commercial building located on St. George Street in downtown Bathurst. It occupies the building that originally housed Peter Elhatton Carriage and Undertaking Ltd.

Heritage Value

Elhatton’s Funeral Home is designated a Local Historic Place for its economic ties with the Elhatton family since the mid-19th century and for its architecture.

Elhatton’s Funeral Home has been owned by the same family since it was first established. The company was founded by Peter Elhatton. His sons Fred and Frank succeeded him around 1921. Wilbur, Fred’s son, subsequently became the business’s proprietor. Patrick Elhatton, Wilbur’s son, represents the fourth generation to run the family business.

Elhatton’s Funeral Home is recognized as well for its affiliation with the region's commercial life for more than 110 years. When the company got its start in the mid-19th century, it was known as Peter Elhatton Carriage and Undertaking Ltd. It manufactured buggies, sleighs, hearses and stage coaches. Those vehicles were known as Hatton Wagons. The company also produced coffins. In the 1920’s, the company abandoned manufacturing to concentrate exclusively on funeral services, becoming Elhatton’s Funeral Home Ltd.

The current building, constructed around 1930, is a testimony to the family businesses that succeeded one another there over the years. It is an example of vernacular commercial architecture with Craftsman influences from the early 20th century.

Source: Bathurst Heritage Trust Commission Inc.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Elhatton’s Funeral Home include:
- original location of the family business;
- rectangular, two-storey building made of brick;
- symmetry of the openings;
- rectangular lintels and sills;
- divided rectangular transom windows on the front façade;
- veranda with shed roof and pediment on the main façade.