O'Reilly House (''also known as the O'Reilly House Museum'') is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

located in Placentia,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was built for Magistrate William O'Reilly who served as Magistrate of Placentia from 1897-1923. He was the son of Thomas O'Reilly who had been the magistrate of Placentia from 1877-97. In 1902, Magistrate O’Reilly employed the architect W.J. Ellis to build a Balustrade Queen Anne Victorian house that would serve as his family home.

Description

Consisting of two storeys, the exterior of this Victorian bracketed house is defined by narrow wooden

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'', in modern Am ...

. Alongside this feature, the house contains several design elements that reflect the typical style of

Victorian houses In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victori ...

. Accordingly, an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

was placed above the front door and in the entrance-way, the architect added decorative

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows which were placed alongside the interior door of the foyer. Double-bay windows with pediment also highlight the front of the house. Inside the house, the rooms on the ground floor are typical of

Victorian decorative arts Victorian decorative arts are the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a grand excess of ornament. The Victorian era is known for its interpretation and Eclecticism in art, ...

with a

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

and dining room near the front of the house and a

kitchen A kitchen is a room (architecture), room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a Kitchen stove, stove, a sink ...

and

pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, (sometimes) dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...

in the rear. Leading out of the kitchen is a narrow and modest stairway that led to a room that would have been reserved for the

maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

who worked in the house. The

also contains several attributes including "very large double bay windows, dentil mouldings, pocket doors,

roundels A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

windows, four

fireplaces A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

, large handcrafted mouldings throughout and a handcrafted staircase." The main

stairway A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway. ...

is defined by unique details. Close to the top floor, one of the wooden railings is inverted. Whether this detail was intentional or unintentional is unknown. However, it remains one of the original elements of the house. The various rooms in the house were warmed by

. On the ground floor, there is a

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

in the

, as well as another in the

dining room A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually next to the kitchen for convenience in serving, though in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically the dining room is furnished with ...

. Two of the rooms on the second floor each possess a fireplace.

House of the Magistrate

Magistrate William O'Reilly
stepped down in 1923 and was followed by Michael Sinnott. At the time, the O'Reilly family continued to live in the O'Reilly House until the death of William O’Reilly in 1928. Afterwards, beginning around 1934-1935, the O'Reilly House was rented to the Cahill family for a short period of time for parents

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...

and Mary. Their son Tom Cahill grew up to become a playwright and writer for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. He wrote many plays about Newfoundland winning an

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. Th ...

award for '' The Undaunted: Sir Humphrey Gilbert'' about explorer

Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Ameri ...

, and a CBC President’s Award for his work. Artifacts belonging to him and his various awards were donated by his family to the historical society, and are now on display in the museum. When William Linegar became the Magistrate in 1939, after Michael Sinnott stepped down, he privately leased the O'Reilly House as accommodation for himself and his family. It was several years later in 1943, when th
Government of Newfoundland
(Department of Justice) purchased the house in order for it to be used as the official residence for the magistrates. William Linegar remained as Magistrate until 1972 and was followed by Magistrate Terrence Corbett who did not reside in the house. Although William Linegar was no longer the magistrate, he continued to occupy the O'Reilly House until his death in 1984.

Renovations

In 1985, the O’Reilly House became vacant and th
Placentia Area Historical Society
was able to purchase it for a dollar from the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. For the most part, the house was used as the magistrate's house. Amongst the older houses in Placentia, Newfoundland, "it is one of the few that have not been 'modernized.'" Many of the features of the original house remained intact. However, after successfully obtaining a number of grants to fund the renovations, the PAHS began its work. The

renovations Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...

were substantial and involved tasks such as removing paint that had been in place for several decades. Some of the elements of the house had to be replaced such as the ceiling in the dining room, as well as the fireplace. Despite these renovations, the goal was to maintain the original design features of the house. Th
Placentia Area Historical Society
received th
Southcott Award
in 1989 from the Newfoundland Historic Trust in recognition of the preservation of the house. It was also designated as a Registered Heritage Structure of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000, and was the third structure to receive this status in Placentia, the other two being the Rosedale Manor and St. Luke's Cultural Heritage Centre. Additional repairs were completed in 1999. This work was focused on the roof,

chimneys A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typically ...

, siding, and doors. On 24 April of that year, the building was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the

Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) or Heritage NL is a non-profit Crown corporation of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador established in 1984 by the Historic Resources Act (Newfoundland and Labrador), Historic R ...

. The O’Reilly House was designated a Municipal Heritage Building on 19 August 2006 by the Town of Placentia.

Museum

Following the renovations, th
Placentia Area Historical Society
officially opened the house as the O’Reilly House Museum on 1 June 1989. Since this time, the O’Reilly House Museum has become a noted tourist attraction for visitors to the Placentia area in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2020, the historical society acquired the recently

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...

and historic St. Luke's Anglican Church located next-door, and have renovated it into St. Luke's Cultural Heritage Centre, now used for lectures, workshops, performances, and even an

escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limit ...

inside the building. Oreillyhousestlukes

In 2020 due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, the museum opted to help create a virtual tour of the museum using 360° photos of each space. Visitors o
the website
can view each of the interior rooms, and learn more about each artifact and picture inside the museum.

References

External links

Placentia History websiteO'Reilly House museum virtual tourFacebook pageInstagram page

Sources

*Anonymous 1988 "Preserving a piece of Placentia" Decks Awash 17(3), pp. 27-28
''Canada’s Historic Places'' 2014 "O'Reilly House Municipal Heritage Building"
historicplaces.ca; accessed 21 January 2018. *Barnable, G. 2002 ''Under the Clock — A Legal History of the Ancient Capital'' (St. John’s, NL: The Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador); accessed 21 January 2018.

heritage.nf.ca; accessed 21 January 2018.
"O'Reilly House Museum"
Virtual Museums in Canada 2013; accessed 21 January 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Reilly House (Placentia) Museums in Newfoundland and Labrador Buildings and structures in Newfoundland and Labrador History museums in Canada Houses completed in 1902 1900s in Newfoundland 1902 in North America 1902 in the British Empire National Historic Sites in Newfoundland and Labrador