Description of Historic Place

The Matthew Cunningham House is located at 11 Barry Avenue, on the south side of Barry Avenue, west of Queen Street, in the former village of Streetsville, now the City of Mississauga. The one-and-a-half storey red brick dwelling was constructed in circa 1860.

The property was designated, by the City in Mississauga, in 1982, for its heritage value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 408-82).

Heritage Value

The Matthew Cunningham House was built in circa 1860 for a local tinsmith, Matthew Cunningham. Matthew came to Streetsville with his father in 1852. He opened a tinsmith shop with his brother, William. Together they provided the local community with tinware and stovepipes.

The Matthew Cunningham House reflects a mixture of architectural styles, most notably, Regency and Georgian Revival. The Regency style is reflected in its one-and-a-half-storey height, hip roof and numerous tall ornamental chimneys. The bell-cast on the porch roof is also associated with the Regency style. The round-headed windows with fanlight glazing bars, the stone window heads and quoins and the narrow eaves are Georgian Revival features. The decorative frieze along the boxed eaves is reminiscent of a Romanesque corbel table frieze.

Sources: City of Mississauga By-Law 408-82; City of Mississauga, Heritage Register Report; City of Mississauga, Heritage Structure Report, June 29 1979.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Matthew Cunningham House include the:
- one-and-a-half-storey red-brick exterior
- high hip roof
- two bracketed chimneys on the wing
- three internally bracketed chimneys
- boxed eaves
- buff-brick frieze
- quoining with sawn-stone
- entrance with voussoirs
- round-headed window flanking either side of entrance
- double hung sash, nine over six paned windows
- bell cast metal roof
- boxed cornice on the enclosed porch