The secret of Saint John's Tapley Manor: A north end love story

The old north end, according to Bridget McGale and Catherine Sidney, is Saint John's "best kept secret."

Perched on a rocky hill, their 146-year-old home, Tapley Manor, offers a panoramic view of the St. John River.

On a clear summer evening, the stately home, manicured lawn and neat hedges are drenched in the orange-gold light.

"These houses were built for the sun," said Catherine Sidney.

"All of the bay windows in this house, upstairs and down, are on the south side."

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The couple fell in love with the house in the spring of 1990, said McGale.

Many others had overlooked its potential: it had languished on the market for two years.

The day after that McGale's birthday they put in an offer of $70,000, and never looked back.

"Not everyone gets a birthday gift like that," said Sidney.

Over the past 26 years, the couple have painstakingly renovated every room of the big old house, originally built by the tugboat magnate Archibald Tapley in 1870.

"We've maintained the character of the house," said Sidney, gesturing toward the stained glass, hardwood floors, and handmade crown moldings.

"History is encapsulated in this one building."

Community deserves respect

But just across the park on Victoria Street, the picture couldn't differ more widely from the pristine view from Tapley Manor.

A swath of homes are boarded up and slated for demolition. The same is true of nearby Main Street.

Sidney believes the neglect of century-old homes has contributed to the problem with morale in the neighbourhood.

"If you give someone something that's nice," Sidney said, "then they'll take care of it."

• PHOTO GALLERY: A view of Saint John's old north end

There are also the inherent difficulties of restoring an old property, adds McGale.

"Some of the buildings that are now boarded up," she said, "haven't been looked after for the 26 years we've been living here."

That being said, she and Sidney say Tapley Manor was no palace back in 1990.

"If this house was the way it was when we bought it," she says, "it would have been torn down, too. But look at it now."

A brighter space

While it's sad to see century-old architecture shuttered and demolished, says McGale, the north end is overall "a much brighter space" than it used to be.

She cites the work of O.N.E. Change, the refurbishment of Victoria Square, Shamrock Park, and the playground on Bridge Street as examples of the strong community spirit that exists in the north end.

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McGale recalls looking out onto Victoria Square after post-tropical storm Arthur hit in 2014 and seeing "all the people out, with their own brooms, cleaning up the park," said McGale.

"Now that's a community."

'You're part of it'

Sidney and McGale, both world travellers, "love living here," said McGale.

"We have never regretted living here, and wouldn't move."

Sidney recalls setting out an early morning walkaround the neighbourhood, shortly after the passing of the couple's beloved German Shepherd.

Accustomed to the company of a big dog, she said, she felt anxious when she heard a car slow down and pull up beside her.
"I thought, 'What's this going to be about?'" said Sidney.

"Then the guy rolled down his window and was like, 'Hey! I just wanted to tell you, I saw a German Shepherd for sale there on Kijiji!' People are basically good people."

"I don't know who that guy was," she said.

"But people see you walking, and then you're part of it. You're a character in the north end."

Is Saint John's old north end on the cusp of a comeback?

8 years ago

Duration 1:29

The old north end, according to some, Saint Johns best kept secret is attracting new residents with cheap real estate and developers looking to renovate.