The Petrie House
Author Unknown
Date Unknown
Lincluden, now owned by Mrs. Florence Petrie, stands gracefully amid several ancient Linden trees on the Gondola Point Road. Lincluden has been standing there since the mid-eighteen hundreds. It was built by Robert Thompson around 1859 as a summer house. The name is thought to be originated from Scotland where there is a small town that surrounds a castle and both are called Lincluden. Mr. Thompson built this fairy-tale cottage, complete with a carriage house and beautiful grounds, perhaps as a reminder to him of his original homeland, Scotland.
The house is constructed completely of wood, with a gabled roof. The south side of the house, or the front, faces the Gondola Point Road. The driveway goes completely around the house so that the horse carriage would not have to reverse out on to the road. The old Linden tree, on the front and east lawns, not only provide ample shade for the house and grounds, but they also lend their branches to the songbirds. They help to add romance to this fine cottage under the Linden trees.
The east half of the house is probably the original cottage. It has three gables in the front, two small ones with one larger one between. Around the eaves is the swirly, intricate woodwork of the period commonly known as gingerbreading. Each window is outfitted with a pair if shutters that are not only decorative but also actually close, protecting the house from storms and cold. The west wing, believed to be the newer portion of the house, also has similar gingerbread trimming and eaves. However, it is not as swirly and intricately carved. This section also has closing shuttings on its six windows.
The east side of the house overlooks rolling green lawns, beautiful flower gardens, and the large Linden trees. Running along the entire width of the house is a spacious sun porch with its original sliding glass windows. With a set of broad wooden steps leading up to it, the sun porch has a marvelous view of the Kennebecasis River. It is also a terrific place for children to play on a rainy day. It has a wooden floor and a fairly high ceiling. It is adorned with plants in the summertime, but because it is not insulated and has the sliding glass windows, it is therefore, not used once the cold weather arrives.
The of Lincluden is just as impressive as the front, but it has a different touch, Mrs. Petrie who an outstanding flower lover, gardener, and prize-winning flower arranger has kept the gardens well attended with their cascade of colour filling the grounds with beauty and splendor. The bay window in the living room overlooks these beautiful gardens.
Attached to the rear of the newer west wind is an awning that provides shade for several lawn chairs where Mrs. Petrie and her guests can spend a pleasant summer afternoon enjoying a marvelous view of the grounds and the Kennebecasis River.
Off to one side of the drive there is a carriage house that once housed a horse and buggy but now Mts. Petries car.
In the front vestibule there is a very beautiful diamond cut crystal doorknob and an intricately carved window in the door. This window has a hand-carved pattern with a floral leaf design. The door leading to the house has a set of windows all around it. The door itself it very beautifully carved in the familiar wooden cross design with the cathedral design within each quarter. The finishing touch to this beautifully carved door is a heavy brass knocker.
Inside there is an elegant entrance hall with a ceiling reaching two stories to the roof where a chandelier is tastefully hung. To the left there is a massive mahogany staircase leading up to the second floor. Directly across from the front door there is a beautifully carved wooden doorway. This ‘straight line’ design, with sic thin lines of molding, can be found framing all the doorways leading from this front hall.
Inside this doorway there is a very large living room The baseboards that border the room are in keeping with the design outling the entrances. This living room was once two separate rooms with two fireplaces, back to back, in the center of the dividing wall. These fireplaces had a chimney made of plaster and wooden laths. The house, originally used only in the summer, had used these only on cool summer nights. The fireplaces were not meant for extremely hot fires. When the wood furnace was put in and the house winterized, the four foot logs produced a great amount of heat. The chimney was constructed to withstand that amount of hear and as a result around 1950. There was a chimney fire which revealed the ineffective chimney and nearly burnt the house down. Following this the wall was taken down and a new chimney was built off to one side. A much larger fireplace was then made and an antique marble mantel and facing was installed. This beautifully hand-carved fireplace came from an old house in Saint John.
Behind the staircase and next to the living room there is a sitting room or den. It is quite small and has shelves where books and other knickknack are kept. Next to this room, in what is believed to be the newer portion of the house is a beautifully papered dining room with a crystal chandelier. This room, structurally simple, was at one time a butler’s pantry. Beneath the wall paper there are marks on the walls where several shelves once stood. It is in perfect location beside the kitchen and with a lower ceiling than the living room Behind this room is a modernized kitchen with a new screen door leading out to the backyard and gardens.
On the second floor there are several bedrooms. Each bedroom is papered in a different shade and design, with fairly low ceilings and simple design. This was clearly the functional portion of the house because there is an absence of any intricate woodwork. However, each room boasts a very beautiful view, some overlooking the gardens and other overlooking the river.
This summer cottage, built by Robert Thompson, in the mid-eighteen hundreds, must have been a pleasant place to spend a summer. It certainly is a gracious year around home.
