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Wallace Twins Houses

376 and 380 Main Street, Sussex, New Brunswick, E5R, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2008/08/25

Front view of both buildings from the south; Town of Sussex
Wallace Twins Houses
The house located at 380 Main Street; Town of Sussex
Wallace Twins Houses
The house located at 376 Main Street; Town of Sussex
Wallace Twins Houses

Other Name(s)

Wallace Twins Houses
Bryant Residences
Résidences Bryant

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1875/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/10/21

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Wallace Twins Houses are a pair of similar one-and-a-half storey Queen Anne Revival residences located on Main Street in Sussex.

Heritage Value

The Wallace Twins Houses are designated a Local Historic Place for their association with the Wallace Funeral Home of Sussex, for their association with Harold Russell Bryant, MD and for their architecture.

The Wallace Twins Houses are recognized for their association with the Wallace family. These residences at 376 and 380 Main Street, Sussex were built in 1875 by George H. Wallace for his twin sons, George and Fenwick. The Wallace Twins were carpenters who, as a result of providing coffins to customers, became undertakers. Fenwick Wallace founded the Wallace Funeral Home in 1893. In 1907, Fenwick Wallace helped establish the New Brunswick Funeral Directors Association and he also founded what is now the Canadian Funeral Directors Magazine. Wallace Funeral Home was operated by three generations of the Wallace family until it was sold to Steve Baldwin in 1994. Fenwick Wallace was a mayor of Sussex from 1915-1916.

The Wallace Twins Houses are also recognized for their association with Harold Russell Bryant, MD. Dr. Bryant used the residence at 376 Main Street as his dwelling, while running his medical practice from the adjacent property on the west. Bryant was a medical doctor in Sussex for fifty years. He was mayor of Sussex from 1965 to 1966. He was also instrumental in organizing such projects in Sussex as the Anglican Church Homes and the Kiwanis Nursing Home.

The Wallace Twins Houses are also recognized for their architecture. They are good examples of early Queen Anne Revival residential architecture. This style is evident primarily in the variety of exterior wall textures. The houses retain their shingle siding in the gable and their clapboard siding on the body of the structure. The windows are original to the buildings and have an unusual etched design on the upper sash glass, being a postcard design. The roof over the entrance at 376 Main Street is a more recent structure, with its curved line reflecting a fan window over the front door. The porch surrounding the front door at 380 Main Street is part of the original veranda.

Source: Town of Sussex, Historic Places file #S-10-08

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that relate to the Queen Anne Revival architecture of the Wallace Twins Houses include:
- one-and-a-half storey rectangular plans;
- front-facing gable roofs;
- shingle siding in the apex of the gables;
- clapboard siding on the lower storeys;
- regular placement of windows and doors;
- decorative skirts forming pediments over the top of the second storey windows;
- etched panes of glass in the front windows;
- central chimneys;
- pediment, decorative balusters, and spindles of the porch at 380 Main Street;
- curved porch roof over the entrance of 376 Main Street;
- fanlight over the front door of 376 Main Street.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

New Brunswick

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NB)

Recognition Statute

Local Historic Places Program

Recognition Type

Municipal Register of Local Historic Places

Recognition Date

2008/08/25

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Trade and Commerce
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Science
Building Social and Community Life
Community Organizations

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling
Commerce / Commercial Services
Office or Office Building

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

George H. Wallace

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Town of Sussex - Historic Places File #S-10-08

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

1613

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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