How to Research Historic Houses
Site And Location
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A crucial factor in understanding the historical
context of houses involves recognition of how they
were landscaped and placed on a lot, and the way
they related to adjacent spaces and buildings.
Houses have never existed in isolation and have
always altered the landscape to some degree. The
effect has been most dramatic in cities and towns,
where a wholly new landscape and sense of place were
created by the grouping of houses along streets and
in subdivisions. On farms the house was part of the
farmyard, thus forming an overall economic unit.
This had a different impact on the landscape, and
the significance of a farm house is enhanced if its
relationship to the rest of the farmyard and its
buildings is still intact.
Setting, however, is perhaps the most
difficult aspect of a building’s significance to analyze
because it has so often been dramatically altered.
Urbanization, the move towards larger farms, and changes
in transportation have worked the most extensive change
throughout the province, but changing fashions in
gardens and yard design have also created major change
at a more local and individual level. Streetscapes have
also changed because of fire, demolition and the
construction of new "infill" houses on older streets. As
well, the natural processes of growth and decay affect
both streets and yards. Nonetheless, for a particular
house, original fences, trees, garden layout, and yard
structures like garages and garden buildings demonstrate
the way that the house related to its surroundings and
how life within the home reached out to involve other
areas and the community. The house itself often employed
design features, such as verandahs or glassed doors, to
create a bridge between the outdoors and the interior of
the house.
The way in which outbuildings related
to the house and the manner in which the yard was
planted and space was separated were expressions both of
personal needs and of community. They remain vital
signposts in understanding the context of the house and
should be recognized as holding significance in the
preservation of the built environment. In this sense,
original garden and yard layout, streets and
subdivisions, and farmyards which have been relatively
unaltered, provide a physical reference for the house in
its most basic context and should be recognized in
conjunction with the house as significant historical
resources.
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