Description of Historic Place

Cluett House, constructed circa 1900, is a two-storey structure built in the Second Empire style with a mansard roof, second storey dormers and one-storey, three-sided bay window on the first storey. It is located on Hillcrest Road in Ramea, NL. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Cluett House has been designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador for its aesthetic and historic value.

Cluett House has aesthetic value as a good example of Second Empire style housing. The house was built by Matthew Nash from McCallum, who was a shipbuilder employed by the firm John Penny and Sons in Ramea. The house retains many features of Second Empire styling, including the mansard roof with bonneted dormers, a three-sided bay on one façade, decorative eave brackets, bargeboard and ornamental mouldings. Of particular note is the decorative use of wooden shingle cladding on the exterior of the house. The shingles are arranged in courses of straight and saw tooth patterns, adding to the visual aesthetics of the house. Cluett House is the only example of Second Empire style in Ramea and is a rarity in the region.

Cluett House has historical value because of its association with notable Ramea residents, particularly light keeper Charles Chaffey. The house was built for Charles Chaffey, whose father John became the first lighthouse keeper in the newly constructed Northwest Head lighthouse at Ramea in 1902. John, reportedly a native of England, had been living in Great Jervois before coming to Ramea, where he was recorded as being a shopkeeper and a fisherman. Charles took over the position of light keeper upon his father’s retirement sometime before 1920. An apparent bachelor, Charles died in 1955 at the age of 78. Arthur and Vivian Cluett were the second owners of the house and lived there for over 60 years. Arthur was born in Ramea and worked in the fishery for most of his life, as a doryman, a trawlerman, a fish plant worker and a night watchman at the fish plant in Ramea. He passed away in 2009 and was predeceased by his wife.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Ramea – Cluett House - FPT 5088”

Character-Defining Elements

All those elements which represent the aesthetic value of the Cluett House, including:
-number of storeys;
-mansard roof;
-decorative eave brackets;
-double flat moulding on eaves;
-return on the eaves;
-wooden shingle cladding in straight and saw tooth courses;
-wooden corner boards;
-covered/open porch;
-elaborate bargeboard on covered/open porch;
-3 bonneted, semicircular dormers on second storey main façade;
-1 shed dormer on second storey rear façade;
-plain felt mouldings on dormers;
-2/2 windows style, size, trim and placement;
-one-storey, three-sided bay window on side façade;
-wooden clapboard on the bias on bay window;
-large entablature style moulding with brackets supported by round mouldings on bay window;
-size, style, trim and placement of panel door with clear and coloured glass;
-large entablature supported by decorative brackets above main door, and;
-footprint, dimension, location and orientation of building.