Description of Historic Place

Morell House is a well-maintained large Georgian style 2 ½ storey house with a 2 storey rear addition. The house is wood-shingle clad, with a steeply pitched roof. A hipped roof verandah runs the length of the front elevation. The Morell House is an impressive asset on the main road of the rural community of Morell, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

Morell House was built in 1860 for shipbuilder, merchant and landowner Jonathan Benjamin "J.B." Cox (1806-1866) as replacement for his 1795 house which was lost to fire in 1859. J.B. Cox was formerly of Newfoundland and was a landowner and large employer in the Morell, Prince Edward Island area. More than twenty-five ships were constructed by Cox who was also involved in the timber and lumber trade.

Morell House is comprised of a two-storey 1840s structure which was moved to this site and a large 1860 Georgian style addition which faces St. Peters Road. The 1840 section may have been part of the original Shuttleworth Estate in nearby Lot 40, established in the 1790s by Robert Shuttleworth (1743-1816). Shuttleworth's property included a large mansion he named Morell House. The estate was later taken over by land agent Charles Worrell (ca 1770-1858) who eventually amassed more than 80,000 acres of land in Prince Edward Island. Worrell in turn sold Morell House to J. B. Cox. It is believed that Cox's family were residing in the original Morell House which was destroyed by fire in 1859. Shuttleworth's background and time on Prince Edward Island was explored in a 1992 article by David Webber published in the Island Magazine.

The current 1860 Morell House is thought to have been built by a local builder known for his church construction -- Hugh MacDonald -- "Hughie the Spire".

Morell House remained in the Cox family for many years. It was transferred to J.B.'s son Julius Cox and his wife Jane Sutherland, widow of John Sutherland. The 1880 Meacham's Atlas lists the property as part of the John Sutherland estate. Julius Cox left the house to his son Harry H. Cox (1874-1950), businessman and farmer and local member of the Legislative Assembly. The windows were enlarged around 1903. In 1950, the property was purchased by railway employee Stanley and Beatrice Brown who modified it into two apartments.

Following some years of vacancy, the current owners acquired the property in 1980 and have since completed historically sympathetic renovations, returning the home to a single dwelling, and continue to maintain and value its historic significance.

Morell House continues to be valued as an example of fine Georgian architecture and for its outstanding integrity and condition, its historical associations with early settlement in the area, its connections with the shipbuilding industry and with its associations with the Cox family. Morell House is an important asset in the streetscape and the community of Morell.

Heritage Places files, Dept. of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/M51

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Morell House is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the house
- the pitch and slope of the roofline
- the wood shingle cladding
- the size and symmetrical placement of the multi-paned sash windows: six over four on the first storey and four over four on the second floor
- the hipped roof verandah on the front elevation, with wood turned columns with decorative bracketing
- the centred front door with transom and side lights
- the bargeboard trim with teardrop incisions
- the large, multi-paned round topped attic windows
- the wood window shutters on front and east elevations
- the kitchen ell at the rear elevation of the house, with multi-paned wood sash windows

Further contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- the extant original interior architectural features
- the sandstone foundation