View allAll Photos Tagged Thimble
Testing these out. The leather on is suppose to go on your middle finger knuckle area. I'm trying different fingers but the jury is still out :)
Thimble Cottage or the O'Brien property, found in St. John's, Newfoundland. This house has sat empty for a number of years since the final family member passed away a few years ago. I had heard there were plans to refurbish it but it has had nothing done to it and is deteriorating. This is a real piece of history from a long gone era.
Thimble Cottage is a wooden, two-and-one-half storey saltbox house located at 150 Oxen Pond Road, St. John’s, NL. Built between 1850-1851 by farmer John O’Brien, it is a rare example of a nineteenth-century Irish farmhouse in Freshwater Valley, where more than twenty such homes once existed. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Thimble Cottage has been designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador because of its historical, aesthetic and cultural values.
Thimble Cottage has historical value as it is one of the oldest remaining farmhouses in St. John’s and is associated with the agriculturally stimulated settlement on the outskirts of the city. Oxen Pond Road is situated in Freshwater Valley, an area settled primarily by Irish immigrant farmers who produced food for local consumption, particularly for St. John’s and surrounding area. Pioneers such as John O’Brien developed a farming way of life that proved prosperous from the late 1700s into the twentieth century.
Thimble Cottage has aesthetic value as it is a rare example of the type of farmhouse built by Irish settlers in Freshwater Valley, an area on the outskirts of St. John’s until the mid twentieth century. Its saltbox construction would have been typical of the type of home built by early settlers in this area and in surrounding communities. Indeed, the saltbox style was an accepted form of early housing throughout much of Newfoundland. Also of note is the large central hearth, a typical feature of this house type. Employing mortise and tension construction and locally procured timber and stone, Thimble Cottage is a testament to the skill and craftsmanship of vernacular builders in the region.
Thimble Cottage has cultural value because it stands as a physical reminder of a particular time and place. Freshwater Valley was once a rural community of farmers on the outskirts of St. John’s. Above the bustle of the growing city, farmhouses, outbuildings, gardens, fields and livestock peppered the landscape. Creating fertile fields from wooded wilderness, farmers in this area supplied city dwellers with fresh produce, providing the colony a degree of self sufficiency. By 1840, more than four hundred such farms were located within the boundaries of what is now St. John’s. Today only a handful remain. Thimble Cottage is an important component of the cultural landscape in an area quickly being developed as a compact, residential zone.
Character Defining Elements
All elements that define the building's vernacular saltbox design, including:
-saltbox roof;
-two-and-one-half storey construction;
-boxed eave brackets;
-long overhanging eaves;
-narrow wood clapboard;
-corner boards;
-window size, style, trim and placement;
-size, style, trim and placement of exterior doors;
-large central hearth;
-chimney style and placement;
-location and style of linhay on rear facade; and,
-dimensions, location and orientation of building.
Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “St. John's - Thimble Cottage - FPT 1655”
Some more information on the O'Brien family:
Irish emigrant John O'Brien designed Thimble Cottage on Nagle's Hill in St. John's around 1850. O'Brien had emigrated from Ireland between 1815-1820 and began to clear 14 acres of land in Freshwater Valley, now located in St. John's.
O'Brien took advantage of a measure by Newfoundland's Governor, Sir Richard Goodwin Keats, to ease the laws against commercial farming in the early nineteenth century. O'Brien established a commercial dairy farm and sold his milk to housewives and shopkeepers in the west end of St. John's. He nearly lost the farm in 1849 after a legal battle fined him £12 for an assault. O'Brien claimed he could not pay the fine and, consequently, his farm was to be sold at a public auction. A public uproar ensued caused by an editorial in Robert John Parson's Newfoundland Patriot in support of O'Brien. As a result, no one submitted a bid on the farm and O'Brien was able to keep his property.
The present structure was the third home built by John O'Brien on his farm. Built for his son Timothy, it would usually take two winters to gather sufficient materials from the nearby forest to build such a dwelling. He made the chimney from locally-gathered stone and sheltered the structure with locally-made spruce shingles. The two-and-a-half-storeyed salt-box house has a sloping roof which makes the structure a single storey at the rear where the kitchen is located. The dwelling is typical of a nineteenth century Newfoundland Irish farmhouse. It is the sole survivor of approximately 20 similar homes that were once common in the Freshwater Valley area.
The family continues to own the farm and dwelling. John O'Brien's great-grandsons, Aloysius and Michael, live there now; the third brother, John, died in 1997 after also having lived there. Aloysius is well known in St. John's for his extensive knowledge of Newfoundland botany and for his fluency in Irish Gaelic. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to Newfoundland's horticulture and the preservation of Irish Gaelic, Memorial University of Newfoundland granted Aloysius an honorary degree in 1982.
The O'Briens have fought against the forces of modernization to preserve the farm that has been in the family for nearly 180 years. They have rejected million-dollar offers made by potential developers and resolutely defend their property against industrial and residential intrusion.
Thimble Cottage is known as a great place for stimulating conversation and over the years many well-known figures have visited the O'Brien homestead. Perhaps the most famous visitor was former Irish Prime Minister Bruton, who spent an afternoon with the O'Briens while visiting the province. Irish historian and author Aidan O'Hara is a frequent visitor. Some well known Newfoundlanders, such as musician Pamela Morgan, are regular visitors to the O'Brien brothers.
The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador rewarded the efforts of Aloysius and his brothers to preserve their land and home in May 1992 when Thimble Cottage was declared a Registered Heritage Structure. This structure was also awarded the Southcott Award for Heritage Restoration by the Newfoundland Historic Trust.
© 1998 Heritage Foundation
of Newfoundland and Labrador
(31Kb)
One of my most cherished possessions is my grandma's thimble. Check it out on my blog, which you'll find in my profile!
One of my most cherished possessions is my grandma's thimble. Check it out on my blog, which you'll find in my profile!
Amelia Thimble and Hamish clothes for the oh-so-wonderful fairysquisher. Not quite complete yet.
From Top Left to Right:
Red overalls from Mattel
Handmade top and leggings by Vanessa Ford
Handmade dress and belt by Vanessa Ford
Crocheted sweater from Miniature Memories
Handmade dress and purse by Vanessa Ford
Handmade nightgown and nightcap by Vanessa Ford
Bunny from Wilde Imagination
Crocheted slippers from Miniature Memories
Handmade dress and headband by Vanessa Ford
Pink shoes from Mattel
Handmade puppy pjs by Vanessa Ford
Toy Dinosaur - unknown manufacturer
purple foxglove (digitalis purperea) scrophulariaceae. also known as fairy thimbles, and tod-tails. nice but toxic, no flash, caulfield road. langholm, dumfriesshire, scotland.
The Thimble is a symmetrical 5779 foot peak in the San Ysidro mountains. This star trail was taken from the rim of hellhole canyon. 91 exposures at 45" each. ISO 1600.