The Gummerson House is located at 151 Church St. (on the southeast corner of Church and Queen Streets). It was built in the Gothic Revival Cottage style around the 1880’s. The Gummerson family moved to Bradford from Bond Head (on the southwest corner of Beeton Road) in 1886. This structure later became the home of Rose MacEwan. Sue and Philip Richards also lived here at one time. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a one-storey and a 1½-storey rear additions. There was a barn at the rear originally. The house has a centre hall plan and a medium-pitched, gable roof with steeply-pitched dormers. It has dichromatic brickwork at the stylised quoins and a patterned belt course. There is an accent brick, diamond pattern at the dormer and gable peaks and at the curved, brick lintels at the openings. There are large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. The house has four-pane, casement windows at the front and 2/2 wood, sash windows at the sides. Painted, wood, lug sills remain. The front dormer has a round-headed casement. Original windows and doors, loadbearing, brick masonry construction, and a stone foundation also remain. An inscription in a brick at the rear of the building reads: “Sept. 3, 1886 prayer meeting”. According to the 2000 inventory, the lack of Gothic Revival features (such as a porch and gingerbread trim) indicates a more modest, vernacular variation. It also notes that the house originally had three chimneys (one at each of the gable ends) and a barn at the rear. (1, 3)
The house, which is currently found at 26 Colborne St., was moved to this site many years ago. It was originally located across the river on the west side of Federal Farms Road. The west entrance to Queensville passed through the property. The one-storey, T-shaped house has a living room, two bedrooms, a front kitchen and a smaller room behind. North of the kitchen there was a sloping roof and a long narrow room that was used as a bedroom. Lorne Church, his wife, and their children (Jim, Marion, Aileen, Jack, Gordon and May) once lived here. Lorne worked at Lukes’ mill. There was a shed behind the house for cars and wood. It was later moved into the garden and converted to a greenhouse for plants to be grown on Mr. Bruce’s marshland property. In addition to farming for Mr. Bruce, the boys delivered milk in a small wagon in the early 1930’s. (1, 2)
The house located at 59 Drury St. was considered to be new when this photo was taken in 1995. Bill Aitkens (Aitken?) had a horse stable on the property many years ago. (1, 2)
This mid-block building is located on a sloping lot at 112 Frederick Street. The structure, which was once the home of the Chantler family, was built on a sloping lot pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. The existing Frederick Street appears to be built at a higher level than the lot, indicating that this house was built before the street was paved or town services were installed. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a square plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. It has a saltbox roof, a symmetrical façade, and a single door at the grade-level entrance. There are small window openings with low floor to ceiling heights and plain, wood trim and sills. Double-hung windows are not original. Wood frame construction is covered with vinyl siding. The original siding was likely wood. There is a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, few of the existing building elements appear to be original. It also notes that this modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. (1, 2, 3)
The house located mid-block at 115 Hurd St. was built around 1920-1940 in the Gothic Revival Cottage style. It was once the home of Aldie Robinson. The Waldruff family lived here years later. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, a medium-pitched, gable roof and a steeply-pitched, gable dormer. The wide, ground-floor windows indicate twentieth-century construction. The openings are original, but the windows have been replaced more recently. They have cut-stone sills and steel lintels. There is a broad, brick header belt course. Long, narrow bricks which are not a standard shape are used. The house has brick veneer on wood stud construction. This indicates post-1920’s construction. There is a parged, block foundation and a wide, basement window with a window well. The use of a basement for ‘living’ space is a more modern concept related to improvements in waterproofing and insulation technologies. According to the 2000 inventory, this house incorporates modern-day construction materials, techniques, and detailing. It also notes that the entrance door and sidelight, metal awning, and wood porch are recent additions. (1, 3)
