Home / Accueil

James Holland House

230 Pelham Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, B0J, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1998/09/24

James Holland House, Old Town, east side porch, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage, 2004
East Porch
James Holland House, Old Town, front façade, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage, 2004
Front façade
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1897/01/01 to 1897/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2005/03/22

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

James Holland House is a hip-roof, wooden residence situated on Pelham Street in the Old Town Heritage Conservation District in Lunenburg, NS. It is northfacing, backing onto a steep slope, and it is one-and-a-half storeys on the front elevation and two-and-a-half storeys on the rear, with no setback from the street. Designation extends to the building and surrounding property.

Heritage Value

The James Holland House is valued as an example of homes built in Lunenburg at the end of the nineteenth century, and for its contribution to the surrounding streetscape. The house was considered quite fashionable when it was built in the 1890s for James Holland, a wealthy local fisherman. It is one of a number of large homes built at the east end of Pelham Street in the late nineteenth century. This streetscape differs from the centre of the Old Town in that the houses are larger than older Lunenburg homes, and reflect styles that were common across the continent at the time. The cubic design of the house is elaborated with three full bays and an open roofed veranda with a full view of the harbour, all of which have a number of ornamental details. The veranda was originally intended to be a focal point of the house, as the level of detail implies.

Source: Heritage Designation File 66400-40-46, Town of Lunenburg.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the James Holland House relate to its late nineteenth century design and contribution to the streetscape and include:

- location immediately at the streetline, which provides continuity with the surrounding streetscape;
- an open, roofed veranda extending the length of the eastern side of the house, with the veranda roof supported by paired Tuscan columns on modern plinths;
- two two-storey, five-sided, bays on the front façade, and one two-storey bay in the same design on the western side; each with dentilled and bracketted cornices and intermediate shingled sections;
- upper storey bracketted cornices of bays and the main roof eaves that form a continuous line, and beneath the bracketted eaves, the dentil course also forms a continuous band around the house;
- main entrance, located on the main floor of the western front bay, with a small rectangular transom window;
- hip roof of medium pitch, with a centrally located chimney, adding to the sense of practicality and cubic form;
- two-over-two windows on all facades, with dentilled lintels;
- wide cornerboards, meeting with the dentil course at the eaves, also adding to the solid cubic form of the house.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Nova Scotia

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NS)

Recognition Statute

Heritage Property Act

Recognition Type

Municipally Registered Property

Recognition Date

1998/09/24

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Residence
Single Dwelling

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Town of Lunenburg, 119 Cumberland Street, P.O. Box 129, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, B0J 2C0, Town Heritage Property files.

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

37MNS0046

Status

Published

Related Places

Lunenburg from Haulback Head

Lunenburg Old Town Heritage Conservation District

Lunenburg is located on the southwest coast of Nova Scotia. The Old Town Heritage Conservation District is located on a hilly peninsula between Lunenburg (Front) Harbour and the…

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places