Registered Heritage District

The Harbour Grace Registered Heritage District stretches from Point of Beach to the Roman Catholic Cathedral, along Water Street and surrounding areas and within the Town of Harbour Grace, Conception Bay North. The district is primarily residential with commercial properties interspersed, and it includes all land, buildings, structures and rock walls confined to the district boundaries set down by the municipality.

The heritage values of the Harbour Grace Registered Heritage District lie in its historic associations, its varied architecture, and its environmental qualities. The Harbour Grace Registered Heritage District has historical value because of its long history as a primary port in the province. Harbour Grace was likely to have been a major harbour for European fishers from the mid-1500s and became a colony in 1617 through a formal grant by the Newfoundland Company. It had previously been occupied by pirates such as Peter Easton and Sir Henry Mainwaring, who fortified parts of the present day district. Throughout the 18th century Harbour Grace was an important centre for the Conception Bay fishery and a major port of entry for supplies. In the 1760s the town began to develop its institutions and its first church, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, was constructed in 1764. With the diversification of the fishery into sealing and the Labrador fishery at the beginning of the 19th century Harbour Grace grew larger and more important to the colony. This stable resource industry inspired other types of development – economic, cultural and institutional. It was because of these advances that the area opposite the ocean, on Water Street, became a prosperous neighbourhood. Along Water Street a range of five stone shops were built, schools began to emerge and churches grew in number and importance. The stone courthouse, built in 1830, is an indication of the power and place of Harbour Grace in the middle of the 19th century. However, a series of poor fisheries during the 1870s and 1880s, followed by the bankruptcy of a number of principal merchants, among them the Ridleys, lead to economic collapse. Matters were not helped by a series of devastating fires which consumed parts of the town.

Despite the fires, Harbour Grace retains a considerable number of fine 19th century structures. The intactness of the area is symbolic of the once thriving town that relied so heavily on the fisheries. The district is architecturally distinct because the buildings within the district are varied, yet cohesive, with different styles and choices of materials being employed in a wide variety of sizes and functions. Examples include brick and stone construction, and vernacular interpretation of high styles in domestic, institutional and commercial buildings. Within the district are many buildings with provincial and municipal heritage structure designations bestowed on them. Also included in this district are numerous rock walls and wrought iron fences which are original to the properties. The district holds the oldest stone courthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador, a National Historic Site, as well as some very fine examples of 19th century merchant homes in relatively unchanged condition. Three early churches are included in the area. St. Paul’s Anglican Church is the oldest stone church in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Immaculate Conception was seat of the Roman Catholic diocese for over a century. Also within the district are a Customs House and the residence of the Customs Official, Hampshire Cottage, in close proximity to each other and to the harbour.

The Harbour Grace Registered Heritage District has environmental value due to its location near the harbour, as well as being a cluster of related 19th century structures. The neighbourhood has regularly spaced houses with large front yards and ornate fence work. More formal structures, like the courthouse and customs house, punctuate the residential precinct with their distinctive and individual characteristics. The open prospect over the water is a significant natural viewplane that is an important attribute of the district and this openness of the land to the south side of Water Street gives the district a distinct waterfront character.

Heritage Structures in the District: 

• St. Paul’s Anglican Church (1835)
• Immaculate Conception Church (1889)
• Customs House / Conception Bay Museum (1870) 
• Courthouse (1830)
• Hampshire Cottage / Garrison House (1826)
• Ridley Hall Ruins (1834)
• Ridley Office (1838)
• Rothesay House (1855/1906)
• The Maples (1900)

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Heritage District Development Plan & Ridley Hall Adaptive Reuse Study

Heritage NL’s Heritage District Development Plan & Ridley Hall Adaptive Reuse Study are now available online as a single document for public viewing.

This past summer, three architectural students from Heritage NL developed this document in partnership with the Town of Harbour Grace and the Harbour Grace Board of Culture, Innovation and Business Inc., with further consultation from residents and local stakeholders. The resulting master plan features a network of walkways through the district’s historic laneways, its scenic shoreline, and the Point of Beach shipyard. It also includes interpretive nodes and other public amenities to make the area more attractive to locals and visitors alike. A feasibility study for the Ridley Hall ruins investigates its adaptive reuse as a community venue, recreation space, and public garden.

The document can be viewed online on the Town’s website here: www.hrgrace.ca/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Harbour-Grace-Booklet-HNL-Fall-2020.pdf

Special thanks to Myles Burry, Patrick Handrigan, Sarah Reid, and Jerry Dick (executive director) for producing this report. We also wish to thank Heritage NL and the National Trust for Canada for financially supporting this project.