Description of Historic Place

Built in Georgian style, Lennox Tavern is a two-storey wooden building located on the upper slope of Lunenburg's Old Town on the corner of Fox and Cornwallis Streets. The property is located within a designated heritage district and municipal designation includes the building and surrounding property, which is presently an inn.

Heritage Value

The Lennox Tavern is valued as a well-maintained Georgian building, representative of Lunenburg's late eighteenth-century architecture, which includes a large stock of wooden buildings laid out in geometrically regular streets and blocks. Built in the early nineteenth century for innkeeper John Lennox, the Lennox Tavern is one of the oldest buildings in Lunenburg. It is also the largest intact Georgian dwelling in the town. Built on a massive stone foundation, the post and beam plank wall structure is designed in late Georgian style. It has a balanced facade, a medium pitched gable roof and two large chimneys, which is typical of Georgian homes.

Source: Heritage Designation File 66400-40-33, Town of Lunenburg.

Character-Defining Elements

Stylistic elements characteristic of the Georgian style include such elements as:
- an appearance of order and regularity, taken from symmetrical lines and simple ornamentation;
- stone foundation;
- symmetrical façade, with 6 over 6 windows, and a central doorway;
- medium pitched gable roof, with two large symmetrical chimneys;
- transom window and plain pediment over the front door.

Elements characteristic of Lunenburg buildings of the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century include:
- clapboard cladding, with endboards and finishing boards at the basement level;
- proximity to the street, with the front door opening immediately onto the street;
- the building setting close to the street and oriented facing the street, with little land surrounding the building.