Description of Historic Place

The Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters is one of four outbuildings located at the 30-acre (12-hectare) Willson Estate. Designed in the Queen Anne Revival style, it is a one-and-a-half storey, gable-roofed, stone structure with a gabled dormer and overhanging eaves supported by large brackets. Its walls are a combination of rough cut stone, wood shingles, and half-timbering, which create a rustic appearance. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and architectural, and environmental values.

Historical Value
The Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters, as an outbuilding at the Willson Estate, is directly associated with one of the grand rustic summer estates popular in the late 19th and 20th centuries. It is directly associated with an early stage in the development of the Gatineau Hills for recreational purposes. The estate was the summer home of the prominent inventor and industrialist, Thomas Leopold Willson, who played a prominent role in scientific research and development in Canada. At the summer home, the Willson family entertained the famous and influential, including poets Rupert Brooke and Duncan Scott.

Architectural Value
The Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters is valued for its very good aesthetic and good functional design. The careful massing, materials and detailing of the building, suggests a restrained and relatively symmetrical version of the Queen Anne Revival style, in harmony with the main house at the estate and its rustic setting. The level of detailing and craftsmanship is high.

Environmental Value
The Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters establishes the rustic character of its estate setting and is a familiar building at the estate.

Sources: Robert Hunter, The Wilson Estate, Meech Lake, Gatineau Park, Québec, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, 84-008; Wilson House Complex, Meech Lake, Gatineau Park, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 84-008.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters should be respected.

Its very good aesthetic and functional design and very good craftsmanship and materials, as for example:
- the one-and-a-half storey massing with a gable-roof with overhanging eaves supported by large brackets;
- the construction materials, including the rough-cut reddish granite, the wood frame with plaster and the cut board in the front and side gables;
- the simply shaped bargeboard in the gable ends;
- the window and door arrangement.

The manner in which the Garage and Caretaker’s Quarters establishes the rustic character of its estate setting and is a familiar building in the area, as evidenced by:
- its overall scale, design and materials, which complement the design of the main house and harmonize with its adjacent outbuildings at the country estate;
- its close proximity to the main house, which makes it a familiar building at the estate.