Description of Historic Place

204 Fitzroy Street is a wood framed house in the Maritime Vernacular cottage style. It features a symmetrical facade with a centrally placed roof dormer. It is located among a number of heritage homes of varying ages. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 204 Fitzroy Street lies in its Maritime Vernacular cottage inspired architecture; its association with early residents of the City; and its role in supporting the Fitzroy Street streetscape.

204 Fitzroy Street was originally owned by brewer, Thomas Pethick. It is possible that the house was used by one of his brewery business employees. Pethick had begun a brewing and distilling business with George Wright in the mid 1820s, but by the 1830s, Wright gave up his interest in the business. However, Pethick continued on in the brewing business until the 1860s. Advertisements in local newspapers of the 1830s and 1850s note that Pethick's Brewery would pay the highest prices for good clean barley, oats and rye upon delivery.

Pethick's daughter, Eliza Dalrymple Pope, inherited the home in 1869. Pope was the wife of Hon. J.C. Pope, a former Premier of the province. In 1875, Miss Ann Mullen purchased the cottage as a home for herself. She appears to be the first owner who actually lived in the home as opposed to renting it out. Eventually she put the home in trust for Ellen B. Cronan, the wife of local carpenter, James Cronan, who lived there until at least the mid 1920s. Later owners of the home included the Towan, McDonald and MacGillivery families.

Although it is not clear when the home was built, it is likely that 204 Fitzroy Street is one of the older homes in Charlottetown because of its interior log construction. It was influenced by the Maritime Vernacular Cottage style of architecture. The style was common in mid 19th Century Charlottetown. A distinctively Maritime style, its features include a rectangular plan, a central doorway and a large, centrally placed dormer. Due to its architectural style and its historic associations, the building continues to contribute to its streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
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Character-Defining Elements

The following Maritime Vernacular Cottage style character-defining elements contribute to the heritage value of 204 Fitzroy Street:

- The overall massing of the building and its one and one half storeys
- The symmetrical facade
- The mouldings painted in a contrasting colour including the window and door surrounds, the corner boards, the eaves returns and the shutters
- The gable roof with centrally placed gabled roof dormer
- The style and placement of the windows, particularly the sash windows on either side of the door of the main floor facade and the window of the second floor dormer
- The size and centre placement of the door
- The size and placement of the brick chimney

Other character-defining elements include:

- The location of the building on Fitzroy Street and its physical and visual relationship to its streetscape
- The continued use of the building as a residence