Description of Historic Place

Slipp House is a striking black and white Classic Revival residence situated at the top of a hill overlooking Lower Main Street in Woodstock. The home is neighboured by homes of similar stature.

Heritage Value

Slipp House is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture, for its location in Victoria Terrace and for its association with the Slipp family.

Slipp House is a good example of residential Classic Revival architecture from the late 19th century in Woodstock. The house displays many characteristics of the period, including simple, elegant gable roof with classical trim, simple window frames and hoods and symmetry in massing.

Slipp House is also recognized as a part of the neighbourhood formerly known as Victoria Terrace. Victoria Terrace refers to the long sloping hill overlooking Main Street, where a line of graceful heritage homes overlook Lower Main Street. This area was home to many of Woodstock’s elite in the late 1800’s. The grounds are included in the designation as a part of Victoria Terrace.

Slipp House has heritage value because it has been owned by and lived in by a descendant of the Slipp family since its construction in 1883, when Whitfield Slipp built it for his bride. Lumber for the house was cut at the Slipp Farm in Bulls Creek and transported to the site. The Slipp family were entrepreneurs in a variety of industries in Woodstock playing an important role in the development of the area's early economy.

Source: Carleton County Historical Society Historic Places Files, “135 Union Street”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the exterior and the grounds of Slipp House include:
- rectangular two-storey massing;
- wooden clapboard siding;
- many original 2/2 windows;
- bay windows on the first storey;
- Classic Revival elements including simple wooden trim of gables and windows, gable roof, and decorative detail below eave returns;
- original doors with decorative frames;
- landscaping of the sloping terraced hill overlooking Main Street.