Description of Historic Place

Bramshott Spirits is a Municipal Heritage Property located on a single lot on Main Street in the Village of Leask. The designation applies to a two-storey, stucco-clad, wood-frame building built in 1912.

Heritage Value

The heritage significance of the building lies in its association with Dr. James Duncan, the community's first physician. Duncan, originally from Scarborough, Ontario, moved to the Leask district with his family in 1912. Soon after arriving, Duncan established his medical practice in the building, where he also operated Leask's first pharmacy. In 1919 Duncan sold the pharmacy to the Coventry family, who operated the business until 1955, when Leask's new doctor, Dr. J.B. Tucker, bought the property and operated it as a pharmacy until 1961.

The heritage significance of the building also lies in its architecture. Built in the boomtown style, the building's facade contains two large windows on the main level adjacent to the front entrance at the centre of the building. The upper level also has two symmetrically placed, smaller windows. The facade extends above the gable roof, a distinct feature of the boomtown style.

Source:

Village of Leask Bylaw No. 3/2008.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Bramshott Spirits resides in the following character defining elements:
-elements associated with the building's first owner Dr. James Duncan and its use as a pharmacy, such as the shelves adorning the walls at the front of the building and glass enclosed shelf units throughout the building and its location on its original site;
-architectural elements representative of the boomtown style, such as the façade extending above the gable roof, symmetrically-placed windows on both levels and the arrangement of the second-level living space.