GEORGE GOSLING HOUSE
late 1870s
133 Coster Street
George Gosling House
- Russelltown Inn -
Located on the northern end of Coster Street, within the Bonavista Municipal Heritage District, Gosling house stands very close to several municipal and provincial designated heritage structures including Jubilee House, Lawrence Cottage, Lockyer Manor, and the Methodist Central School. Through archival records, materials and construction methods found in the home during restoration, the home is dated to be built in the 1870s.
William Gosling, the son of George Sr. and his wife Agnes Fisher lived in the house with their seven children Samuel, George, William James, Barbra, Mary Elizabeth, Joseph, and Ralph. William was known as having a side trade as a cobbler and during restoration cobbler's shoe forms were found in the attic of the home. His son Joseph worked for many years as a local tinsmith for John Withers Lawrence of Bonavista.
Following the death of their parents, brothers George and Joseph, both unwed, lived in the home. The youngest sibling, Ralph, constructed his family home on the same property. Ralph’s home still stands today only a few feet from the home where he grew up.
The Gosling house is an excellent example of late 19th century Newfoundland vernacular. The home has a steeply gabled roof with a unique cedar shake application to the gable ends. An unusual decorative detail for Bonavista, these cedar shakes were painted in the same colour as the home's trim. The Gosling home also had a prominent three-bay design facing Bonavista harbour. These windows were a three-over six and six over six styles. Decorative door and window trim with wide hand-carved rain caps and faux pilasters also embellished the home.