Description of Historic Place

The Old Presbyterian Manse is located at 1130 O'Grady St. (formerly John St.) in the Village of Manotick, Ottawa Ontario. It is an easily recognizable two-and-one-half storey stucco house with two semi-circular dormers on the front

The Old Presbyterian Manse is recognized for its heritage value by the Township of Rideau (now City of Ottawa), By-law 46/84.

Heritage Value

This two-and-one-half storey stucco house with two semi-circular dormers on the front façade is closely associated with the early residents of Manotick and with the post-Union history of the Presbyterian Church. John Street retained much of the character of Manotick, as it was in the early years of this century, and the Old Presbyterian Manse is an important part of the streetscape.

The Old Presbyterian Manse was probably built between 1895 and 1900. James Brownlee, a cooper, owned the property for 14 years from 1886 to 1900. The assessment jumped by $100 from 1894 to 1895, which would suggest that the house might have been built that year. The earliest residents of this house are reported to be the O'Connors who worked at the Mill and purchased this building in 1900. Moving to Ottawa just before the Great War, they rented this house to Dr. O'Hara who was a local veterinarian whose office was in what is now the kitchen. His smaller patients and their owners entered through the side door. The back stairs enter into the kitchen.

After John O'Connor's death, Elizabeth O'Connor sold the property to Thomas Cummings, a barn builder, in 1920. Mr. O'Connor applied grey stucco to his home as it had been previously been clapboarded and later sold half of his property to Mr. R. Whitehorne, who built Mr. H. Campbell's home on this lot. Thomas Cummings sold the house to the Trustees of the Manotick and Kars Presbyterian Churches, and it served as the Presbyterian manse from 1929 to 1967.

The Old Presbyterian Manse is rectangular in shape and the small side opens onto the street. The stone foundation is covered with cement and the front veranda has a unique star decoration in the corner brackets. Below the truncated hip roof there is a boxed cornice with a wood frieze and brackets. There are two semi-circular dormers with moulded wood frames and lintels and four rectangular windows with similar features.

Sources: Rideau Township Archives LACAC files, City of Ottawa (3415); Designation By-law 46/84.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that reflect the heritage value of the Old Presbyterian Manse includes its:
- stucco exterior
- two semi-circular dormers on the front façade
- four rectangular windows with moulded wood frames
- wood brackets under the eaves on the front façade
- verandah extending across the front of the house with finely turned wooden pillars and trim featuring brackets with a star design
- truncated hip roof
- location on historic John St. (now O'Grady Street), which retains much of the character of Manotick in the early twentieth century