Located a bit to the south, Bleak House (also known as Inkster House) is an important dwelling built by a member of a prominent Red River Settlement family whose history parallels the colony's transition into the City of Winnipeg. It was on John Inkster's Seven Oaks estate that his son Colin erected the dwelling in a manner similar to the family's nearby 1851-53 home - Georgian in style and constructed of logs with an overlay of siding. A rear extension and front verandah were added in the early 1900s, while numerous outbuildings, including a quaint summer house, filled the surrounding farm lot. Best known as the High Sheriff of Manitoba for 51 years, Colin Inkster also gained distinction as a progressive crop and livestock producer, provincial politician and warden of St. John's Cathedral. His home, known as Bleak House after a Charles Dickens novel, eventually was enveloped by urban development but remained occupied by his descendants until 1973, where his daughter Sybil died. The extensively restored structure is now a recreation centre for seniors and, together with John Inkster's house nearby (the Seven Oaks Museum), forms a rare intergenerational link to Winnipeg's settlement period, its river lot system of land distribution and one of its influential early families. It is on the list of Canada's Historic Places.
Key elements for the exterior of this house include the 2 1/2-storey-high L-shaped massing with a cross-gable roof, complemented by one-storey gable and shed-roofed rectangular volumes; the construction of horizontally laid log walls sheathed in milled horizontal siding atop a limestone foundation; the double-hung windows throughout, most featuring six-over-six-pane sashes and simple pedimented wood surrounds and mullions painted to contrast with the siding; the one-storey front verandah with a centred entrance, plank wood floors and ceilings, an enclosed rear section marked by a gable end with fish-scale detailing and large windows inset with cubes of coloured glass; and the simple classically ornamented front entrance with sidelights and intact brick chimneys.
Key elements for the interior of this house include the formal side-hall plan with the main floor arranged into a series of common rooms and the second floor holding more private rooms; the front entrance hall featuring a basic staircase with a graceful wooden balustrade and an arched doorway leading to the parlour; the upper-level alcove separated from the bedrooms by a large archway; details that include intact wooden mouldings, trim and doors throughout (some with original hardware), coved ceilings upstairs built-in wooden closets an elaborate carved wood and brick fireplace.
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