Description of Historic Place

15-17 Sydney Street is an attractive cottage located near the Charlottetown waterfront. The Classical style influenced home was originally constructed of logs over 25 km away from Charlottetown, in the community of Newtown. The home was hauled to Charlottetown over the ice in approximately 1850 by a group of men and horses. William Douse used the cottage as an office for a time but it is currently used as a private residence. The designation encompasses the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 15-17 Sydney Street lies in its classical architectural features, its association with William Douse (1800-1864) and its importance to the Sydney Street streetscape.

William Douse was a prominent shipbuilder, land agent and Member of the Legislative Assembly. He came to Prince Edward Island from England in the early 1820s and soon became involved in farming, shipbuilding, brewing and auctioneering. In 1833, he was named land agent by the 6th Earl of Selkirk and given power of attorney over an estate of over 100,000 acres. Douse was also active politically. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly for Queens County in 1834 and was successful in all but two elections, until his retirement in 1862.

Douse owned a home and a sail loft next door to where the cottage was placed. According to family records, part of the cottage was used to house offices for the shipbuilding operation, Douse and Company. The Douse family owned the home into the 20th century. The structure was originally a saltbox shape and constructed of logs, with ship plank covering the front facade. In the 1930s, the house was reshingled and two kitchens and two pantries were removed from the back of the home, changing its shape to a simple gable roofed cottage. At the time the cottage was built in 1850, the classical style of architecture was very much in vogue. The symmetrical facade of the home and the use of pilaster style decoration around the windows and the broken pediments above the dual entry doors are well preserved examples of this Classical style in the City.

Located near two other 19th century buildings owned by William Douse, 15-17 Sydney Street is an important part of the Sydney Street streetscape and the Charlottetown waterfront.

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

The following Classical influenced character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 15-17 Sydney Street:

- The overall massing of the home
- The brick foundation
- The placement and style of the six over six windows, including the windows of the first floor, as well as the dormer windows of the second floor, including the western dormer window which has multi paned sidelights and the eastern dormer, with its paired windows
- The placement and style of the doors on either side of the facade with three paned transom lights above
- The corner boards and the trim around the windows and doors, including the pilasters over the windows as well as the door surrounds, with broken pediments over the doors
- The size and shape of the two gabled dormers
- The pitch of the gable roof with eave returns
- The placement and style of the chimneys

Other character-defining elements of 15-17 Sydney Street include:
- The location of the home on Sydney Street