News Release

HAMPTON (GNB) – The provincial government has provided $30,000 under the Built Heritage Program to help the Town of Hampton with the restoration of the Kings County Court House building.

“I am pleased to see the property being put to use by Hampton and we are pleased to help contribute toward its on-going needs,” said Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Trevor Holder. “This heritage building is important historically and architecturally. By investing in the restoration of this building, we demonstrate a commitment to ensuring that this place is part of our provincial fabric for decades to come.”

The property was recently transferred to the town after the building was declared surplus in 2013, following the creation of centralized court services in Saint John.

“The transfer of the surplus property to the town will save the province about $23,000 per year in operating and maintenance costs,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams.

The building was designated a Provincial Heritage Place in 2009. It is also the site of the John Peters Humphrey memorial. Humphrey was involved in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“This is a great example of a community-led, sustainable, heritage conservation and rehabilitation project,” said Holder. “This is exactly the type of project for which the Built Heritage Program was created.”

Completed in 1872 at a cost of $14,000 under the design of prominent Saint John architect J.T.C. McKean, the Kings County Court House is typical of the centralized court houses built in the Maritime Provinces in the last quarter of the 19th century. By the 1870s, most county court houses, including this one, accommodated the county and municipal offices, the registry office and courtroom in a solid, two-storey, fire-proof building.