Description of Historic Place

The Ritchie-Cummings House is a one-and-one-half storey balloon framed structure built in the Late Victorian Plain style. The house is situated adjacent to the road in a neighbourhood of registered heritage properties of similar age and style on St. Anthony Street in Annapolis Royal, NS. Both the house and property are included in the municipal heritage designation.

Heritage Value

The Ritchie-Cummings House, as recognized by its heritage designation, is valued for its contribution to the architectural landscape of the town and historical associations.

Historic Value

During the French period before 1710, St. Anthony Street (or Rue St-Antoine) was the second major street in town and met St. George Street at Fort Anne and the original government wharf. By the early 1800s activity gravitated to the waterfront away from this part of town, which was mainly agricultural and known as "Cooper Field." In 1869 the railway lines were constructed and the numerous houses that had occupied the Church of England Glebe land were removed to make way for a rail yard. Some of these dwellings were relocated to St. Anthony Street and the newly created St. James Street. The Ritchie-Cummings House is thought to have been built by farmer John M.C. Ritchie shortly after he purchased the lot for $400 in 1877. The Ritchie family sold the property in 1909 to merchant William S. Cummings and it remained in the Cummings family until 1962.

Architectural Value

The Ritchie-Cummings House is a good example of the Late Victorian Plain style as interpreted in Annapolis Royal. In keeping with this style, the house has simple decoration. Distinctive decorative elements include a side bay window, cornice returns and a gable dormer. Further decoration is found in the painted endboards of the house. Also in keeping with the architectural style is the enclosed front porch which runs parallel to the road. This house is an excellent representation of working class houses built in Annapolis Royal during the 1880s.

Source: Annapolis Royal Heritage Designation Files, Annapolis Heritage Society, Ritchie-Cummings House file

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Ritchie-Cummings House include:

- original one-and-one-half storey size and massing;
- medium pitched gable roof;
- boxed cornice with returns;
- one-storey ell with gable roof;
- double-hung wooden sash windows;
- front windows topped with an entablature;
- side bay window;
- enclosed front porch with a hip roof;
- clad in wooden clapboard with decorative wooden endboards.