Description of Historic Place

The Port Hope CNR Station, located at 20 Hayward Street, is situated on a rise of land at the southwestern limits of the Town of Port Hope. This single-storey limestone structure was constructed in 1856 and its design reflects a classical style often associated with British railway architect Francis Thompson.

The exterior of the building is protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement. The station is also designated federally under the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.

Heritage Value

Located on a rise of land at the southwestern limit of the town, the Port Hope CNR Station is segregated from the town's historic core and is situated amidst the industrial harbour lands. Its waterfront location reflects the importance of industry in the early operation of the railway and forces the positioning of the station slightly west of the Albert Viaduct. The viaduct, which is supported by a series of large stone piers, was built in the 1850s to carry the railroad across the harbour and is regarded as the second most costly enterprise of its kind along the former GTR route from Toronto to Montreal. The Port Hope CNR Station is one of two historic railway stations that remain in the town, and despite the loss of its associated agent house, repair shop, stock yard and freight shed, the combined station, viaduct and railway remains one of the town's most important heritage landscapes.

The Port Hope CNR Station was a part of the first era of railway construction in Canada and contributed to the early economic development of Port Hope. The station was constructed in 1856 to serve the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), which had been incorporated fours years earlier, to build a main trunk line through the United Province of Canada. The GTR, which was a venture of Francis Hincks, Inspector General of the Province of Canada, and a consortium of British contractors, grew quickly following amalgamations with five other railway companies. By the time of Canadian Confederation it was the largest railway system in the world. Construction on the main portion of the railway between Toronto and Montreal began in 1853 and in October 1856 the railway was completed and ready for use. The routing of the GTR between Toronto and Montreal brought economic prosperity and urban expansion to many of the towns through which it passed and its arrival in Port Hope ignited a mid-century construction boom that is considered one of the most important events in the town's history. In 1923, the operations of the GTR were taken over by the federal government and ownership of the station was transferred to the newly incorporated Canadian National Railway Company (CNR). The station at Port Hope is one of nine surviving first-generation GTR stations in Ontario and is believed to be the oldest station in Canada to have maintained continuous railway use.

The Port Hope CNR Station is an example of a “Second Class Wayside Station.” This style, as embraced by British railway architect Francis Thompson, involved a simple, one-storey depot structure and this design was routinely adopted by the GTR for 34 of their other stations along the Toronto-Montreal corridor. Built by British contractors Peto, Brassey, Betts and Jackson in 1856, the Port Hope station's single-storey, six-bay design has experienced significant change since it was first constructed. The earliest of the modifications to the building can be traced back to the late 19th century, when a number of the original door openings were converted to windows and a brick operator's bay was added on the track-side to allow a clear view of the rail lines. The station was more recently altered in the mid-1980s when an effort was undertaken to rebuild the east and west exterior walls, reconstruct the four original chimneys and restore the interior of the building.

Source: Conservation Easement Files, Ontario Heritage Trust

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Port Hope CNR Station include its:
- “Second Class Wayside Station” design
- simplicity of form, plan and massing
- overall form of a small, rectangular, single-storey building with a large gable roof
- exterior walls of limestone
- brick operator's bay on the platform side of the station
- round-arched window and door openings with simple voussoirs
- narrow, wooden, “plank-style” twin doors with tripartite tracery in the round-headed transoms
- double-hung, two-over-two sash windows with tripartite tracery in the round-headed transoms
- circular attic vents on the gable ends
- broad eaves with large heavy-timber outriggers
- low-pitched, gable roof with four stone chimneys
- distinct location outside of the town's historic core
- siting in relationship to the current CNR railway line and the Albert Viaduct