Description of Historic Place

The William Pennock House consists of a one-and-a-half-storey structure, constructed with local Nepean sandstone, circa 1856, and is located at 176 Charland Road in the Village of Elgin. Sterling Pennock constructed the house and was also responsible for constructing a number of residences in the area during the 1850s and 1860s. The William Pennock House incorporates design elements associated with the neoclassical vernacular style.

The Township of South Crosby recognizes the heritage value of the William Pennock House in By-Law No. 23-83.

Heritage Value

Early settlement in the Village of Elgin is traced to the arrival of the Pennock family in the early 19th century, who had originally immigrated from England and the United States. Chapman Pennock is reputed to have been one of the earliest settlers in the Elgin area, when he and his wife moved to South Crosby following the war of 1812. Following their arrival to South Crosby, the Pennock family were heavily involved with the social development of Elgin. Chapman Pennock in particular went on to become the schoolmaster in the township's first school and then later served as the township clerk all while maintaining his primary occupation as a farmer. Chapman Pennock's children and grandchildren later became successful entrepreneurs in Elgin by the middle of the 19th century as stone masons, postmasters, general merchants, farmers, barbers, and one was a photographer who documented life in Elgin and neighbouring Chaffeys Locks.

In 1856, Chapman Pennock leased his farm to his son William Pennock, who then hired Sterling Pennock, a stone mason, to construct the house now known as the William Pennock House. Sterling Pennock was a local architect and builder in the area during the 1850s and 1860s. The construction and maintenance of the Pennock House recalls one of Elgin's earliest entrepreneurial families and in particular Chapman Pennock.

Additionally, the Pennock House also tells the story of the relationship between immigration flows, military service, and settlement along the Rideau Canal. The William Pennock House is a good version of a neoclassical vernacular house, complete with a gracefully proportioned facade, transom over the main entranceway, shutters adorning the windows on the front facade and the property is surrounded by a four rail patent fence.

Sources: Township of South Crosby By-Law No. 23-63; Sue Warren, Hub of the Rideau: A History of the South Crosby Township, Township of South Crosby (1997).

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that reflect the heritage value of the William Pennock House include the:
- design elements incorporated by Sterling Pennock who was also the builder
- Nepean sandstone exterior
- windows with shutters on the front facade
- simple cornice
- returning eaves
- “sunrise” or fan transom above the door
- six double-hung windows with a six-over-six pane arrangement with sandstone sills
- stone voussoirs above windows and curved archway at the main entrance
- one stone chimney
- gracefully proportioned facade
- low-pitched gabled roof
- cellar door on the north facade
- four rail patent fence surrounding the property.