Description of Historic Place

Inglewood is a late nineteenth century red brick vernacular house. It is located at 110 Collingwood Street, on the west side of Collingwood Street, between Edgehill and Union Streets, just west of the main Queen's University Campus, in the City of Kingston.

The property was designated by the City of Kingston, under part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, on May 17, 2005 (By-law 2005-132).

Heritage Value

Inglewood is an important historic landmark in this residential neighbourhood. It sits on a generous and well-treed lot facing Collingwood Street, at the top of a hill coming up from King Street West. The house is closer to the south side of the lot and there is a drive on the north edge with a modern shed at its end. A large maple tree sits in front of the main façade towards the south end of the house.

Inglewood is an excellent example of a late nineteenth century vernacular brick dwelling. It is a rather unusual architectural design for Kingston. The house stands two-and-a-half storeys, constructed of red brick, and sitting on a high limestone foundation. Its plan is essentially L-shaped with a gable roof, the gable end of the main section facing south. The two-and-a-half storey wing, with a gable end facing east, projects from the north half of the Collingwood Street façade. It features an ornate and decorative front porch and a prominent front entrance including two original doors.

The house is associated with the development of housing for middle class residents employed in Kingston's growing institutional sector, beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing through the early twentieth century. Initial construction dates from circa 1888, when owner Frederick G. Norton was assessed for a partially built dwelling on the site; it would continue to be assessed as only partly built for another five years. It was not unusual to leave a certain, obvious part unfinished for some years to take advantage of the much smaller tax assessment. The McCormack family, who owned the property for 54 years beginning in circa 1900, named it “Inglewood” in 1927. Samuel McCormack worked as a guard at the nearby Kingston Penitentiary and his wife Irene McCormack was a teacher and later a Vice Principal, at Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute.

Sources: City of Kingston By-law 2005-132; City of Kingston Heritage Property File CHE-P18-537-2004.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that support the heritage value of Inglewood include its:
- overall size and massing
- two-and-a-half storey height
- L-shaped plan
- detailed red brick construction
- high limestone foundation constructed of large stones
- gable roofs on the main section of the building and the eastern wing
- single brick chimney
- wooden soffit and barge boards
- decorative porch
- fenestration, including some original storm windows, topped by brick voussoirs and limestone keystones
- main entrance in the north section of the front façade of the house with a rectangular transom and side lights and original four-panel door
- name “Inglewood” inscribed on the transom light
- bay window to the right of the entranceway with a narrow, horizontal, decorative limestone panel below each window and a limestone keystone above
- pair of windows on the second storey of the front façade and the single window under the gable
- original single door with transom with a window to its left in the recessed south section of the front façade
- windows
- location on a generous and well-treed lot
- large maple tree in front of the main façade towards the south end of the house
- landmark status at the top of the hill coming up Collingwood Street from King Street West