John E. Woolford, a Royal Engineer and Barrack Master, is attributed with the construction of this grand Georgian house around 1840. Situated slightly away from the street, this two-and-a-half storey wooden frame dwelling sits at the intersection of Smythe and Charlotte Streets in Fredericton.
Located at 248 Smythe Street, the Georgian-style house serves as a testament to the architectural prowess of John Elliott Woolford in residential design. Woolford, a landscape painter and architect, arrived in Canada in 1816. He crafted topographical sketches of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario for the Governor General, before his appointment to the New Brunswick Barracks Department in 1823. Woolford was responsible for designing many significant public edifices in Fredericton, such as Government House and Kings College, which were completed in 1828. This house represents a rare instance of Woolford’s residential architecture.
The original inhabitant of this house, Richard Hayne, served as the commissioner of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company. Lieutenant Colonel Hayne enjoyed a distinguished military career both before and after his arrival in New Brunswick. In 1841, the year Mr. Hayne and his young family relocated to this house, he was appointed as the Provincial Aide de Camp. In this role, Mr. Hayne served under four consecutive Lieutenant Governors: Sir John Harvey; Sir Edmund Walker Head; His Excellency J. Henry T. Manners-Sutton; and the Hon. Arthur Gordon.
Richard Hayne’s ties to Government House were familial as well, with all three of his daughters’ wedding receptions taking place within its revered walls. As a result of Lt. Col. Hayne’s Provincial Appointments, his family held a prominent place in society, and this substantial Georgian-style house was fitting for the Haynes’ social standing. Lt. Col. Hayne’s retirement as Adjutant General of the New Brunswick Militia in 1863, a position to which he had been appointed in 1851, marked his return to England, his birthplace.
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