209 Water Street - Parr Division
The building where the original Cottage Craft was once located is recognized as a Local Historic Place for its architecture and setting, as well as for its associations with the various companies that have conducted business there. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt to reflect the original structural elements of the original building.
Cottage Craft is recognized for being a good example of 19th century Greek Revival architecture in St. Andrews. It has a medium pitched roof and large eave returns. The building has a lot of wall space as a result of its small grouped windows and the fan window above the entrance is a distinguishable element. Cottage Craft is unique to the other business houses in St. Andrews as it is not situated along a streetscape. The building fronts on the town’s Market Square and the south side of the building looks over the harbour. Many wharves were in the vicinity of the building while it was Lamb and Billings meat shop and Conley’s lobster plant so it was in a prime location for these enterprises. This property was owned by the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton throughout the 19th century and the land was leased to persons who conducted business on the premises. There is speculation that the building may have been moved to this location in the 1880’s as the style of the building appears to be older than 1887, the year that the first known lessees occupied it.
The first known lessees were Lamb and Billings, at one time the leading meat dealers in the town. Although early history is vague, over the past 86 years this building has been utilized by two important ventures in the Town of St. Andrews. Edwin Conley obtained the building from G. Herbert Lamb in 1921 and it became Conley’s Lobster Factory. Edwin Conley, a former Deer Island lobster fisherman, quit fishing and became a middleman buying and selling lobsters and shipping them to Boston. In the early years of shipping lobster, many lobsters died as a result of long shipments. Mr. Conley patented a container that kept lobster separate from the melting freshwater ice, thus changing the whole industry. The lobsters that were stored here were kept in great tanks through which a pump drove water from the Bay of Fundy at 1500 gallons a minute. St. Andrews was a prime location for selling lobsters retail through the summer as the town had many wealthy summer tourists and residents. The famed Algonquin Hotel would have been a regular customer. The Conleys sold this factory site in 1948 and relocated it.
This building has served as the place of business for Cottage Craft for the past 60 years. In 1915 Grace Helen Mowatt founded Charlotte County Cottage Craft to provide a source of income for women, and to revive their traditional skills. She divided Charlotte County, as well as neighbouring counties into districts, assigning a forewoman in each district to direct the work of women weaving, knitting, hooking, doll making, and embroidering in the privacy of their own homes. In 1946 the business was purchased by the Ross family and they have operated out of this building since 1948. The sweaters are still knitted by local knitters and the products of Cottage Craft are widely known today. Each Cottage Craft knitted item is meticulously hand-knit by one of their over two hundred and fifty talented knitters, using only a pair of knitting needles and Cottage Craft yarn.
The character-defining elements include:
The character defining elements related to the architecture of Cottage Craft include:
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Other Names: Conley's Lobster Factory, Lamb & Billings Meat Shop, Seaside Bistro
Source: St. Andrews Civic Trust - Charlotte County Archives, St. Andrews NB
Cottage Craft is recognized for being a good example of 19th century Greek Revival architecture in St. Andrews. It has a medium pitched roof and large eave returns. The building has a lot of wall space as a result of its small grouped windows and the fan window above the entrance is a distinguishable element. Cottage Craft is unique to the other business houses in St. Andrews as it is not situated along a streetscape. The building fronts on the town’s Market Square and the south side of the building looks over the harbour. Many wharves were in the vicinity of the building while it was Lamb and Billings meat shop and Conley’s lobster plant so it was in a prime location for these enterprises. This property was owned by the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton throughout the 19th century and the land was leased to persons who conducted business on the premises. There is speculation that the building may have been moved to this location in the 1880’s as the style of the building appears to be older than 1887, the year that the first known lessees occupied it.
The first known lessees were Lamb and Billings, at one time the leading meat dealers in the town. Although early history is vague, over the past 86 years this building has been utilized by two important ventures in the Town of St. Andrews. Edwin Conley obtained the building from G. Herbert Lamb in 1921 and it became Conley’s Lobster Factory. Edwin Conley, a former Deer Island lobster fisherman, quit fishing and became a middleman buying and selling lobsters and shipping them to Boston. In the early years of shipping lobster, many lobsters died as a result of long shipments. Mr. Conley patented a container that kept lobster separate from the melting freshwater ice, thus changing the whole industry. The lobsters that were stored here were kept in great tanks through which a pump drove water from the Bay of Fundy at 1500 gallons a minute. St. Andrews was a prime location for selling lobsters retail through the summer as the town had many wealthy summer tourists and residents. The famed Algonquin Hotel would have been a regular customer. The Conleys sold this factory site in 1948 and relocated it.
This building has served as the place of business for Cottage Craft for the past 60 years. In 1915 Grace Helen Mowatt founded Charlotte County Cottage Craft to provide a source of income for women, and to revive their traditional skills. She divided Charlotte County, as well as neighbouring counties into districts, assigning a forewoman in each district to direct the work of women weaving, knitting, hooking, doll making, and embroidering in the privacy of their own homes. In 1946 the business was purchased by the Ross family and they have operated out of this building since 1948. The sweaters are still knitted by local knitters and the products of Cottage Craft are widely known today. Each Cottage Craft knitted item is meticulously hand-knit by one of their over two hundred and fifty talented knitters, using only a pair of knitting needles and Cottage Craft yarn.
The character-defining elements include:
- accessibility to St. Andrews Harbour;
- located on Market Square.
The character defining elements related to the architecture of Cottage Craft include:
- rectangular two-storey massing;
- medium pitched gable roof;
- large eave returns;
- central entranceway;
- fanlight above central doorway
- shingle cladding.
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Other Names: Conley's Lobster Factory, Lamb & Billings Meat Shop, Seaside Bistro
Source: St. Andrews Civic Trust - Charlotte County Archives, St. Andrews NB
