Government House is the official residence of the
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...
, as well as that in
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
of the
Canadian monarch
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...
. It stands on a 4.5 ha (11 acre) estate along the
Saint John River in the provincial capital at 51 Woodstock Road; while the equivalent building in many countries has a prominent, central place in the territorial capital, the site of
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
's Government House is relatively unobtrusive within Fredericton, giving it more the character of a private home.
History
Intended to replace the residence of the
colonial Lieutenant Governors of New Brunswick that burned down in 1825,
Government House was erected between 1826 and 1828 on the site of the former
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
settlement of Sainte-Anne, and served as meeting place for the viceroy and his Executive Council,
balls, and state dinners.
In 1890, however, Lieutenant Governor
Samuel Leonard Tilley
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley (May 8, 1818June 25, 1896) was a Canadian politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Tilley was descended from United Empire Loyalists on both sides of his family. As a pharmacist, he went into business as a ...
felt the maintenance budget for the house was insufficient and consequently relocated,
after which the former viceregal residence took on other roles. From 1896 to 1900, it served as New Brunswick's Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, was a military barracks through
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, a soldiers' hospital following the war, and, from 1934 to 1988, was the J Division regional headquarters of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
.
In 1958, it was designated as a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
, and in 1996 it was designated provincially under the
Historic Sites Protection Act.
Only on 1 July 1999, after two years of extensive renovation and restoration of the structure and its interiors, was the mansion returned to viceregal service in a ceremony including representatives of the
Maliseet
The Wəlastəkwewiyik, or Maliseet (, also spelled Malecite), are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their territory ...
First Nation
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, the ancestors of which performed dances on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
164 years earlier, both times to demonstrate the importance of the
relationship between them and the Crown.
Use
Government House is where the
Canadian Royal Family
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the founda ...
and visiting foreign dignitaries are greeted and often stay while in Fredericton. It is also where numerous royal and viceroyal events take place, such as the bestowing of provincial awards or inductions into the
Order of New Brunswick
The Order of New Brunswick (french: Ordre du Nouveau Brunswick) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under Prem ...
, as well as luncheons, dinners, receptions, and speaking engagements. It is also at the royal residence that the lieutenant governor will
drop the writs of election, swear-in new members of the
Executive Council, and hold audience with his
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
.
The property is owned by the
Queen in Right of New Brunswick and, as mandated before its renovation in 1996, is open to the public.
In that vein, the grounds of royal estate are frequently the site of public celebrations, such as those for
Canada Day
Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
and
New Brunswick Day
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
.
Architecture
The royal residence of New Brunswick was built of
load-bearing A load-bearing wall or bearing wall is a wall that is an active structural element of a building, which holds the weight of the elements above it, by conducting its weight to a foundation structure below it.
Load-bearing walls are one of the ea ...
masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
walls and
timber floor and roof framing, all clad in a
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
exterior. The building, designed by architect
James Woolford, is in the
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
style with touches of
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
, being a
hip roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
ed, rectangular, two storey block divided by two perpendicular axes. The main facade is aligned on the entrance and its curved
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, above which is an arched niche and, at the roof, a shallow gable pierced by a
rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
; to either side of this are rows of multi-paned,
sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...
s, the attic having
wall dormer
A wall dormer is a dormer whose facial plane is integral with the facial plane of the wall that it is built into, breaking the line of the eaves of a building.
Wall dormers are less commonly seen than typical “roof dormers”. They locate the ...
s, and one storey wings, each with a curved
bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.
Types
Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...
.
On the main floor is found the drawing room, dining room, music room, library, two conservatories, and the historical lieutenant governor's office; the second floor contains exhibit rooms and the lieutenant governor's present office; and the third floor holds the viceroy's private apartments.
See also
*
Government Houses in Canada
In Canada, Government House is a title given to the royal residences of the country's monarch, various viceroys (the governor general, the lieutenant governors), and territorial commissioners. Though not universal, in most cases the title is also ...
*
Government Houses of the British Empire
A Government House is any residence used by Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the British Empire. Government Houses serve as the venue for Governors’ official business, as well as the many receptions ...
References
External links
Government House- official site
{{NHSC
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
Barracks in Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters
Museums in Fredericton
Historic house museums in Canada
Georgian architecture in Canada
Sandstone buildings in Canada
Sandstone houses
National Historic Sites in New Brunswick