Newfoundland & Labrador's Registered Heritage Structures

Alphabetical Listing by Place Listing: A-B Listing: C-F Listing: G-K Listing: L-Q Listing: R-S Listing: T-Z Heritage Tours Supplementary Articles Gazetteer Applet

An extravagant dwelling amid the relative poverty of an isolated outport community, Sunny Cottage serves as a symbol of the wealth and power of the outport merchant class at the turn of the twentieth century.

© 2004 Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (42 Kb)

The house was built in 1909 and belonged to John Joseph Rose. He owned a fleet of banking schooners, as well as ships involved in the shore fishery. He also engaged in the export business and was the major employer in the community for decades.

When Rose and his wife died in 1952, the house was passed on to John Stewart, who has maintained it as a private residence.

Sunny Cottage is the largest and most affluent private dwelling in the community at Harbour Breton, and was as much a sign of Rose's importance in the community as it was a residence. The house is located near the ocean, with a large, sloping garden in front.

Sunny Cottage is a two-and-a-half storey building in a Queen Anne Revival style that was a popular design among the merchant class in the early part of the century, especially in nearby Grand Bank. The house has ornamental detail and heavy window treatment, several dormers, and a linhay in the back of the house. The most distinctive feature may be the "widow's walk" on the roof. The walk provides people with a spectacular view of the surrounding land and harbour.

Sunny Cottage was recognised as a Registered Heritage Structure in February 1988.

Image updated November, 2004