Description of Historic Place

Sinclair Davis Residence is a two storey wooden Queen Anne building which is an inner building of a four building complex. Built in 1896, it is situated on Prince William Street at the southern extremity of the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

Sinclair Davis Residence is designated a Local Historic Place because for its architecture and for its association with Sinclair Davis.

Sinclair Davis Residence is one residence of a complex of four residences that are situated upon a terrace that overlooks the Saint John Harbour and has a broader natural landscape frontage than any other residential complex in the Central Peninsula of Saint John. Access to this complex is through a central opening in a natural bedrock and stone wall. Wooden stairways divert north and south parallel with Prince William Street and then turn to the grade of the terrace and climbs toward the vicinity of the entranceways to the buildings. Three of the buildings in this complex are nearly identical in their Queen Anne details and design. They are all equipped with open covered porches and three of the buildings have an oriel window and steeply pitched gable roofs which aid in its association with the sea and its cottage appearance. It exemplifies a serene setting along with a unique display of Victorian architecture and aids in characterizing the scenic beauty and environment that Mr. Sinclair Davis desired.

Sinclair Davis Residence is also recognized through its association with Sinclair Davis. He moved into this home when it was constructed in late 1895 or 1896 until 1948. He joined Manchester Robertson Allison (MRA) in 1886, a leading department store in the City of Saint John. He worked for MRA for over 60 years. For 40 years, he was buyer and manager of the floor covering department of MRA Ltd. He was deacon of Germain Street Baptist Church for 50 years. He was a member of the Saint John YMCA for 67 years.

Source: Planning and Development Department-City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements relating to the context and location of the Sinclair Davis Residence include:
- one of four buildings with near identical detail;
- frontage of the lot is grass;
- bedrock and placed stone wall;
- wooden stairways through the lawn;
- apple tree in front of residence.

The character defining elements that relate to the Queen Anne Style residence include:
- proportioned 2-storey massing of the building's height and width;
- proportioned entrance placement;
- double wooden door with glass upper panels and fan windows;
- proportioned window placement;
- oval oculus windows;
- oriel window;
- large lower storey window is four sash over four with one by one transom window with one over one sash windows along side;
- ornamental trim over the lower storey window;
- two small square windows in the attic;
- peaked pediment atop the dormer;
- pediment bargeboard with the pattern of circles in succession;
- fancy shingle and wood work within the pediment;
- brackets under the eaves;
- open covered porch.