Intention to Designate 241 Wilson St E, Ancaster

Description of Property

The 0.5 hectare property municipally-addressed as 241 Wilson Street East is comprised of a circa 1885 two-storey stone building of a vernacular style. The property is also comprised of a modern building constructed in 2007 in a sympathetic style, municipally-addressed as 253 Wilson Street East. The property is located on the northwestern side of Wilson Street East, at the intersection of Wilson Street East and Halston Street, in the community of Ancaster in the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The circa 1885 two-storey stone structure located at 241 Wilson Street East has physical value as it is a representative example of a vernacular stone nineteenth-century industrial building. The historical value of the property lies in its association with nineteenth-century industry in Ancaster and the Ancaster Carriage Company, who originally constructed it in 1885. The Ancaster Carriage Company was owned by Edward Kenrick (1850-1925), prominent Ancaster lawyer. The property is also connected to the Egleston Brothers, who were responsible for much of Ancaster’s nineteenth-century industry.

This property defines the historic former industrial character of this section of Wilson Street East in the core of the village of Ancaster and is visually and historically linked to its surroundings. The sympathetic new structures on either side of the property enhance for the viewer the sense that this was an industrial space, that Ancaster was once home to a variety of manufacturers and enterprises.

Description of Heritage Attributes

Key attributes that embody the physical value of the property as a representative vernacular nineteenth-century stone industrial building and its association with early Ancaster industry, including the Ancaster Carriage Company, include:

• The front (south) and side (west and east) elevations and roofline of the two-storey circa 1885 stone building, including its:
  • L-shaped plan;
  • Cross-gable roof with projecting eaves;
  • Single stack corbelled red brick chimneys;
  • Broken-coursed rubble stone walls with corner cut-stone quoins;
  • Segmentally-arched window and door openings with stone voussoirs and stone lug sills;
  • Side (east) entrance with transom; and,
  • Stone foundation.

Key attributes that embody the contextual value of the property as a defining feature of the historical character of Wilson Street East in the core of the village of Ancaster include its:

• Location fronting onto Wilson Street East; and,
• Visibility of three exterior walls from the public right of way.