Edward S. Clouston House [Bois-Briant]: Additions and Alterations([1898-1911])
170 chemin Senneville, Senneville, QC, Canada
Residential, Country house [addition: 2 floors, attic, 3 bedrooms, 2 servants' rooms]; stone; wall bearing

Client: Sir Edward Seaborne Clouston
Architect: E. & W.S. Maxwell

Description: Edward S. Clouston purchased Bois-Briant in Senneville from John J.C. Abbott’s estate in 1898. John Abbott, a Montreal lawyer, headed the Faculty of Law, McGill University, from 1855 to 1880. As a politician, Abbott represented Argenteuil at the House of Commons (1857-1874, 1880-1887), was called to the Senate in 1887 and was named Prime Minister of Canada (1891-1892) after Sir John A. MacDonald’s death. He had owned this property since 1865 and probably commissioned the existing stone Neo-Gothic house – whose architect is unknown -- shortly thereafter. Many other buildings, such as a barn, mill, greenhouses, icehouses, cottages, were also present at the time of his death in 1893. One of the largest summer properties in Senneville (from the gatehouse to the mansion itself, the driveway extends to no less than 1950 feet), Bois-Briant was considerably remodelled by its new owner. Banker Edward S. Clouston, Vice-President and, between 1890 and 1911, General Manager of the Bank of Montreal, was born at Moose Factory, Ontario, in 1849. Having joined Bank of Montreal in 1865, Clouston climbed the ranks so successfully that he was eventually referred to as Canada’s J.P. Morgan. In 1893 he chose Edward Maxwell to design his urban residence at 362 Peel (55), demolished in 1938. Obviously pleased with the results, he commissioned Edward Maxwell the first alterations to Bois-Briant in 1898-1899. Only minor changes such as a bay window added to the all on the ground floor were implemented at that time. The existing Sulpician mill was renovated and the gatehouse built with Shingle and Tudor style details. Shortly thereafter a kitchen wing, placed at a 45-degree angle to the rear, was begun. Edward Maxwell asked his Boston colleagues, the landscape architects Olmstead Brothers, to redesign the grounds. In 1905, a major addition to the lakeside part of the house called for a new dining room wing to be placed perpendicularly to the north east corner, with new bedrooms upstairs and a portico joining the existing hall wing. Stone and half-timbering used in elevation and a less steep roof profile distinguished Edward and William Maxwell’s work but still fitted nicely with the original Neo-Gothic façades. Finally, in 1909, another addition -- a bedroom wing designed mostly by William Maxwell -- brought the length of the house to about 150 feet. Five new bedrooms and 4 bathrooms were added: the first floor’s bedroom opened unto a sleeping porch with views on three sides. In elevation, the Tudor character was more assertive than the previous addition, with William’s sure handling of proportions, fine detailing and juxtaposition of stonework and half-timbering as well as the confident placement of openings. Landscape architect Frederick Todd contributed plans for the terrace, steps and pergola that overlooked Lake of the Two Mountains (Lac des Deux-Montagnes). Bois-Briant remained in the Clouston family after his death but most of the Maxwell’s additions in the Tudor style (dining room wing, portico, bedroom wing and kitchen wing) were torn down during the Second World War, returning the house – ironically -- to roughly its original, nineteen-century size and Neo-Gothic style. Save a porte-cochère extending above the driveway and interior alterations, Bois-Briant, the Abbott-Clouston country house has remained the same since.

Holdings: Country house (addition: 2 floors, attic, 3 bedrooms, 2 servants' rooms); stone; wall bearing
16 Drawings: 16 ink on linen
7 Working drawings: foundations, floor plans, attic floor plan, elevations, section
9 Detail drawings: loggia, link to extension, staircase, fireplace, chimney, dormers, windows, radiator seat, verandah