Description of Historic Place

The Margaret and Charles Stuart House is located at 180 Dorset Street East. A unique Victorian residence, it is located close to the south east edge of Port Hope, at the northeast corner of Dorset Street East and Rose Glen Road South, close to the railway line.

The Margaret and Charles Stuart House, also known as “Ballintruan”, is recognized for its heritage value, by the Town of Port Hope By-law 41/80 Schedule B-4, passed on November 3, 1980.

Heritage Value

This striking Victorian home was constructed around an earlier building on the site, built in circa 1843, named Hillside Cottage. The additions and alterations were done to the property in 1879, and designed by noted Peterborough architect, surveyor and engineer, John E. Belcher. This large two-and-a-half storey brick home is set at the end of a long driveway, and is surrounded on all sides by a large lawn, which is dotted with mature trees.

The Margaret and Charles Stuart House is associated with the Gladman and Stuart families, who owned the property for 107 years, ending in 1948. George Gladman, a merchant and printer, built the original small house on the site, which was referred to as 'Gladman's Crossing' after the Grand Trunk Railroad built a line crossing Rose Glen Road near Hillside Cottage. Tragically, George was killed by a Grand Trunk Railroad train in 1863, and the cottage was left to his wife, Harriet, who in turn passed it to their son, Joseph Gladman.

In 1878, Joseph's daughter, Margaret, and her husband Charles Stuart hired John E. Belcher to transform Hillside Cottage into Ballintruan, named for Charles Stuart's home in Scotland. The property has architectural value as an excellent example of the adaptive growth of a small cottage to an imposing, architect-designed Victorian residence with Italianate influences.

Source: Heritage Designation By-law 41/80 Schedule B-4, Municipality of Port Hope: Heritage Port Hope Files, Port Hope Town Hall, 56 Queen Street; Port Hope Archives, 17 Mill Street N., Port Hope.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements of the Margaret and Charles Stuart House include its:
- two-and-a-half storey massing, with two storey kitchen wing
- red brick exterior
- low hip roof with wide eaves, broken by a low front centre gable
- wide one storey veranda, with small second story balcony below the front centre gable
- fenestration, including the round headed French windows, small round headed gable windows, tall narrow two over two and one over one sash windows
- main entrance, including sidelights and stained glass transom with initials “C.S.J”
- interior features, including the Stuart coat of arms, the front vestibule doors and the three paneled vaulted ceiling