Gingerbread house maintains old charm
Home used as a canvas to display woodworking ability of its owner
Over the course of this column, we have looked at many buildings with unique backgrounds or colourful exteriors that make them stand out, there being a clear abundance of such places in Welland.
However, even among these, one house stands as unique, even wearing the distinction of being recognized as the Gingerbread House— and looking every inch the part.
This structure at 204 East Main St. was built circa late 1890s by Alfred Lawrence, a recent arrival from England.
Born at Austwick of Yorkshire, Lawrence moved to Canada late in the 19th century, and in 1899 took over the undertaking/furniture-making establishment founded by Franz Sauter on East Main in 1857, becoming the second in a succession of owners for what would later be known as Sutherland’s.
Lawrence remained in business until 1907, when he had sold his share in the business to his partner, George W. Sutherland, and retired from the venture altogether. Seven years later, it was sold to Mary L. Singer, and remained in her family until 1978, when it was willed to her daughter’s then-boarder.
The boarder then sold the property to Ken Nash, owner of the Ken Nash Paint and Wallpaper Ltd. interior decoration store next door to the building. Although initially planning to bulldoze it to free space for parking, Nash reconsidered his decision after talks with the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee and city hall, and spent money on renovating it instead, with the only new addition being the construction of a passage from the house to the store.
In 1990, the house was at last designated by LACAC as a historically significant building.
The house was built in the highly ornamented late Victorian style, known for its use of decorative details, with other elements mixed in to reproduce the “ideal” visual of the time. The gables and front porch with the slender supporting columns display the Ontario cottage Gothic architecture, while the tower with the mansard roof brings an element of the Italianate style into the eclectic variety.
The stained-glass front bay window and door served as a finishing touch to the overall picture, made in the Queen Anne revival style. At one point, the house possessed five chimneys and a wrought iron railing crowning the tower’s turret, but as most of it was deemed ornamentation, this was removed. As someone who made both caskets and furniture, Lawrence was an excellent hand at woodworking. As such, in order to promote his craft outside of his business, he decided to use his house as a sort of canvas to display his occupation and his ability.
He made much of the original interior paint-grained woodwork, including railings, mouldings and fireplace mantels.
He also created one of the most notable features of the house, and one which had earned it its nickname — the wooden gingerbread trim that once graced the front, seen in the historical photos. A wheel motif was carved above the front porch, replicated in the gable peaks, and scalloped verge fascia flowing along the eaves. Of the trim, only the detailing of the front porch survives.
Understandably, it is often difficult to continue maintaining historical buildings in the same condition as they once were, and without its gingerbread trim, the house is not quite as glorious as it once was. However, thanks to conservation efforts, it remains preserved as a piece of history, leaving its beauty and its past to be seen and admired by all.