Description of Historic Place

The Hicks-Atwood house at 174 St George Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, is a nearly square two storey wood frame structure clad in wood shingles with a gable roof. It was built circa 1832 in the Neo-Classical style. The house is on the south side of St. George Street facing the Annapolis River and it is located immediately adjacent to the street and occupies most of the frontage on the narrow lot. The Hicks-Atwood house is located in an area of designated heritage properties. The designation includes the building and the surrounding property.

Heritage Value

Historic Value

The Hicks-Atwood house at 174 St George Street in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, as recognized by its municipal designation, is valued for its age and the historical importance of this part of the town. The house is located on what was once Glebe land. Four and a half acres in the lower town were purchased in 1704 to serve as property of an eventual Roman Catholic Church. Following the French period, the entire property was formally granted in 1732 to the British garrison chaplain and his Church of England successors. Although construction of a church on the glebe lands had started in 1775, it was not completed until the early 1780s. By the middle of the 1700s the Glebe lands were rented out and contained roughly one third of the town's buildings. Most of the Glebe lands were sold and their structures removed in the 1860s to allow the Windsor and Annapolis Railway access to the town's waterfront.

This property, at the edge of the former Glebe lands, was leased by William Benjamin Hicks prior to 1815. He built a new house circa 1832, reportedly incorporating the kitchen ell of his previous dwelling. The property was leased in 1856 to master mariner Captain Lendall Atwood. Captain Atwood purchased his rented house and property in 1872 when the Church of England sold the remainder of their lands in the lower town. The Atwoods were followed by merchant Moore C. McDormand and his wife Cornelia who owned the house from 1893 until 1909. From 1942 until 1989 the house belonged to the family of Clinton Eugene and Verna Cummings.

Architectural Value

The Hicks-Atwood building was built in the Neo-Classical style although elements of the building have been altered through the years. Since designation, a large wooden ramp has been added to the main door. As well the windows and doors appear to be in their original locations but the original doors themselves have been replaced with sympathetic wooden construction. The front windows have been replaced with vinyl windows although they still have their moulded trim and surrounds.

The house itself is a two storey square mass with a one storey ell which may pre-date the remainder of the building. The building has a medium gable roof with a slight eave overhang and a band of trim below. Unlike the remainder of the structure, the ell has a hipped roof. The building is clad with painted wooden shingles. There is an asymmetrical placement of windows and the front door is located on the left side of the building. The house, which faces the town's waterfront, is located close to the street in an area of other heritage buildings.

Source

Town of Annapolis Royal Heritage Property Files, Annapolis Heritage Society, 136 St. George Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

Character-Defining Elements

The Character defining elements of the Hicks-Atwood house include:

-medium gable roof;
-slight eave overhang with band of trim below;
-two storey square mass with a one storey ell which may pre-date the remainder of the building;
-ell has a hipped roof;
-asymmetrical location of windows;
-exterior clad with painted wood shingles;
-moulded trim on window head and surround;
-moulded trim on door head and surround;
-proximity of the house to St. George Street;
-location near the town's waterfront;
-location on a streetscape of other heritage properties.