Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1859, the Thomas Armstrong Residence is a wooden two-storey, Maritime Gothic Revival residence with twin cross-gables. It is located on the corner of Montague and Augustus streets in St. Andrews.

Heritage Value

The Thomas Armstrong Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture, for its association with past occupants and for being a contributing element to the array of heritage buildings in the Town of St. Andrews.

The Thomas Armstrong Residence is recognized for being a relatively unique example of Maritime Gothic Revival residential architecture. The Maritime Gothic style is evident is this residence by the two cross-gables with handsome wood-framed Gothic Revival windows on the south façade. The residence was built at an intersection and the design appears to have been influenced by its location. The narrow eastern façade is essentially a vernacular interpretation of the Classical Revival style, while the broad southern façade exhibits the two Gothic Revival cross-gables. Many of the windows are wood-framed with a 6-over-6 pane division. The interior has a beautiful spiral stairway.

The Thomas Armstrong Residence is also recognized for its association with its past occupants. The initial occupant of this residence appears to have been boat builder William Edwards circa 1859, who sold the residence in 1864. Thomas Armstrong obtained the home from surveyor Mr. Robert Melville Jack in 1868 for $1,000.00. Thomas died in 1930, at the age of 90, yet it was not until 1953 that it was sold from his estate. Thomas was a veteran New Brunswick Railway man and was in charge of the New Brunswick machine shops when they were in St. Andrews. When the machine shops were moved to McAdam, New Brunswick, he moved there for a short time before returning to St. Andrews, retiring with a full pension.

The Thomas Armstrong Residence is also recognized for being a contributing element to the array of heritage buildings in St. Andrews. St. Andrews has one of the best collections per capita of heritage buildings in Canada that range from the early thriving loyalist days of the late 1700’s to the Maxwell designed homes of the town’s early tourism era in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. Much credit is due to the inhabitants of the town for maintaining this collection and preserving the town’s serene and relaxed atmosphere.

Source: Charlotte County Archives, Old Gaol, St. Andrews, N.B.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Thomas Armstrong Residence include:
- rectangular two-storey massing;
- wood cladding with wide corner boards;
- wide frieze below roof-line;
- twin cross-gables with wood-framed Gothic windows on the southern façade;
- 6-over-6 wood-framed vertical sliding windows with small entablatures;
- window placement and proportions;
- design influenced by its location;
- eastern façade with a vernacular interpretation of the Classical Revival style;
- stone foundation.