Description of Historic Place

The Hughes House is located at 41 Lorne Crescent, on the north side of the street, west of Jarvis Street, in the City of Brantford. The two storey, buff brick residence was constructed in circa 1870.

The property was designated, by the City of Brantford, in 2000, for its cultural heritage value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, By-law 81-2000.

Heritage Value

The Hughes House is associated with local businessmen Walter Hughes. Hughes began as a clerk at Crompton, Appelbe and Co. and in 1905 opened his own store at 127 Colbourne Street. He sold women's clothing and home furnishings.

The Hughes House is a good example of a circa 1870 Italianate style residence. Typical of this style is the exterior wall material of buff coloured brick, which is laid in a stretcher bond pattern. A predominant architectural feature is the off-centred portico towards the left of the front facade which encloses the main entrance. The portico is supported by two wooden pillars and pilasters. The entryway is a multi-paned storm door which is flanked with sidelights. Two arched windows are located to the right of the portico. They have a one-over-one glazing pattern, as well as brick voussoirs. On the upper level of the front facade there are three windows with segmented openings and brick voussoirs. The other windows on the building are generally double-hung units with segmented openings and a one-over-one glazing pattern.

In 1920, a single-storey addition was added to the west elevation. It was constructed by local contractor T. Wilson.

Source: City of Brantford, By-law 81-2000.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Hughes House include its:
- two storey, buff brick exterior
- three-bay facade
- off-centred entrance with sidelights
- original multi-pane storm door
- low hip roof
- portico supported by two wooden pillars and pilasters
- rounded arch one-over-one sash windows
- brick voussoirs
- wide eaves
- one storey addition on the west elevation