Description of Historic Place

The Beckett property consists of a two-storey Second Empire style house, three outbuildings, a well, and a fence which surrounds the entire property, located in Old Perlican. The designation is confined to the property.

Heritage Value

The Beckett property has been designated a heritage structure because of its architectural value.

Constructed in 1902, this house is typical of the houses built by Old Perlican fisherman in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Currently, this house is one of the only remaining original mansard-roofed houses left in the region. Originally built in the Second Empire style, this house was simple and un-adorned, yet it conveyed a symmetrical and clean appearance. Sometime during the mid-twentieth century, however, the owners decided to modernize the look of the house by raising the walls and adding a flat roof, effectively enclosing the shape of the mansard roof and disguising the dormer to appear as a regular window. Following the designation of the property the house was restored to its original state, revealing the mansard roof and dormer which lay beneath the raised walls. Also located on the property are a number of outbuildings, typical of late 19th century fishermen dwellings. The buildings are uniform in both construction style and paint colour, and are located at the back of the house. This property is a rarity in both the region and in Newfoundland because of its completeness, having both the original house and outbuildings still erect on the land.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, unnumbered property file, Old Perlican - Beckett Property

Character-Defining Elements

All original features which relate to the age and style of the property including:
- Mansard roof
- Narrow wooden clapboard
- Original doors
- Original windows
- Original dormer window and placement on roofline
- Simplicity of exterior decoration
- Location of outbuildings
- Original colour and building materials used on outbuildings
- Shape and orientation of outbuildings
- Water well located on property