Description of Historic Place

177 Euston Street is a wood framed Maritime Vernacular cottage that was built before 1860. It is likely that the home was moved in the 1870s and late Victorian Gothic Revival details were added to the home. The designation encompasses the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 177 Euston Street lies in its association with various Charlottetown residents; its Maritime Vernacular Cottage style architecture; and its role in supporting the Euston Street streetscape.

Although it is unclear when 177 Euston Street was built, a home was likely on the property as early as 1860 when farmer, Samuel Wheatley, sold it to ginger beer manufacturer, George Simmons. Land records indicate that Wheatley originally paid only 110 pounds for the property in 1859, but sold it for 325 pounds a year later. This suggests that there probably was a house on the property to account for an almost 300 per cent increase in the original asking price. Another signal that a home was already on the property, was a ghost story that had been passed down through the Simmons' family. The story suggests the home that was on the property came with an unhappy female ghost. According to the Simmons' Family, George Simmons did not believe in ghosts and had many friendly differences of opinion with later tenants who had sworn that they had seen “her”.

John Newson, a furniture manufacturer and importer, owned the home by 1877 and his descendants would continue to live there for approximately one hundred years. Newson’s furniture business was located in the Newson Block on Victoria Row. The building, which still stands to this day, featured a furniture showroom in the front with woodworking and upholstery shops in the back.

It appears that Newson may have moved his home further east from its original position. In land conveyance documents, the home is described as being 54 feet from Upper Prince Street. Currently the home is almost twice that distance. When Newson purchased a property on Euston Street in approximately 1877, it contained a frontage of 129 feet. It is likely that Newson moved the home and subdivided the lot.

The house is a fine example of the Maritime Vernacular Cottage style in the City. The style was common in mid 1800s Charlottetown. A distinctive Maritime style, its features include a rectangular plan, a central doorway and a large centrally placed dormer breaking the front eave line. As with many of these homes, details were added throughout the years and tend to reflect the fashion of the period in which the additions were made. The late Victorian Gothic Revival details were likely added shortly after Newson acquired the home in the late 1870s. A charming home, 177 Euston Street is an asset to the streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
#0000m

Character-Defining Elements

The following Maritime Vernacular cottage influenced character- defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 177 Fitzroy Street:
- The overall massing of the home
- The symmetrical facade
- The large central dormer
- The symmetrical placement of the windows and doors
- The transom light above the door
- The gable roof
- The size, shape, and location of the chimney
- The wooden shingle cladding
Other character-defining elements that illustrate the late Victorian Gothic Revival style heritage value of 177 Euston Street include:
- The bracketted eaves of the front facade
- The bay windows with bracketted roofs
- The canopy roof over the central door with bracketing along the roof and on the door surround
- The gingerbread style bargeboards accenting the central dormer
- The location of the home on Euston Street set close to the street