Description of Historic Place

Naas House is a small one-and-a-half storey Gothic Revival wooden house located at no. 8 Tannery Road in the New Town area of Lunenburg, NS. The house is not located directly on the road, and no. 6 Tannery Road is situated between Naas House and the road. The early nineteenth century house has a small yard on all sides. It is adjacent to an area that was formerly farmland and is now the Lunenburg High School's playing fields to the south and the west. Designation includes both the building and surrounding property.

Heritage Value

Naas House is valued for its age and architectural style, which pre-dates the growth of the surrounding New Town area. The house, sometimes referred to as the Hillside Farm House, was once part of a larger farm property. Naas House is built in the Gothic Revival style, with a tidy, symmetrical appearance, and a large Gothic dormer and portico on the front façade. Its largely original architectural features provide a good clue to the appearance of farmhouses from the mid-nineteenth century in the Lunenburg area.

Tracing ownership using the early deeds for the property suggest that the house was built prior to 1851 and local tradition suggests it was built as early as 1811. The house is one of three residential buildings that appear on late nineteenth century maps of the farm and area, including its close neighbour, no. 6 Tannery Road. According to historical records, and because of the small size of this house and its location immediately behind the larger and more ornate home at no. 6 Tannery Road, Naas House was likely rented out to tenants or farmhands when the farm was in full operation. The property changed hands many times, however for most of the twentieth century it belonged to Theophilus Naas, a foundry worker, and his descendants.

Source: Heritage Designation File 66400-40-32, Town of Lunenburg.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of Naas House relate to its architectural style and location on the former Hillside Farm property, including:

- setback of the house from Tannery Road and situated on a slight rise. This would have provided an excellent view of the farmland originally surrounding the property;
- proximity of the house to no. 6 Tannery Road, another farmhouse on the same property;
- simple and sturdy design of the building, with a central chimney, stone foundation, clapboard siding and symmetrically placed windows and doors;
- all elements of Gothic Revival architecture, including a steep gable roof with a large Gothic dormer, a transom window over the front door, a pointed Gothic window in the dormer, and the small front portico housing the central doorway.