Description of Historic Place

The Bunn House, built in 1862-64, is a 1 1/2-storey fieldstone house set back from historic Bunns Road on a river lot in the East Selkirk area. The provincial designation applies to the house and the lot upon which it sits.

Heritage Value

The Bunn House is a rare and ambitious pre-1870 example of a cottage built of stone for a prominent Metis family before the territory was annexed to Canada. Erected by noted stonemason Samuel Taylor using local materials, the house is a simplified expression of the Georgian style employed by the Hudson's Bay Company and its retirees throughout the settlement. The dwelling's dramatic, robust facades of whitewashed stone and quaint dormers enhance its otherwise modest appointments and size. Strategically situated on a river lot near an old ferry crossing, the structure housed the family of Thomas Bunn. A well-known lawyer and politician, Bunn devoted much of his life to shaping the development of the Red River Settlement and was an important figure in its pre-Confederation administration and transformation to a Canadian province. He was a member of the provisional government formed during the Red River Rebellion of 1869-70 and subsequently elected to Manitoba's first legislative assembly.

Source: Manitoba Heritage Council Minutes, January 25, 1992

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Bunn House site include:
- its secluded location on an expansive grassed and wooded lot off Bunns Road on the east bank of the Red River
- the relationship between the house and the remnants of the Red River Trail and nearby ferry crossing

Key elements that define the dwelling's unpretentious Georgian architecture include:
- the simple 1 1/2-storey structure characterized by symmetrical, box-like massing with a steep cedar-shingled hip roof punctuated by five dormers and prominent end chimneys
- the substantial one-metre-thick whitewashed walls of local stone and rubble, with a lime binding agent
- the multi-paned rectangular double-hung windows throughout, with wooden surrounds and sills painted to contrast with the whitewash and nine-over-six-pane sashes
- the details, including two finials along the roof peak, intact vertical wood plank front and back exterior doors with stained-glass transoms, etc.

Key elements that define the house's straightforward interior layout, finishes and details include:
- the central-hall plan with a large entrance hall bisecting the house, a small, simple wooden staircase in the middle and formally arranged main-floor common rooms and second-floor bedrooms
- the roof construction consisting of squared timber rafters fastened at the ridge board with wooden dowels, with the lower end of each rafter seated in a double wall plate anchored atop the stone wall
- the main level's wood plank floors and ceilings and plastered interior walls
- the modest yet functional details, including mouldings, some interior wood plank doors with period hardware, a massive stone fireplace, etc.