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 Sinclair Inn - Annapolis Royal, NS Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 44° 44.672 W 065° 31.162
20T E 300554 N 4957659
Built of two separate early eighteenth century houses joined together, with a second storey later added, the Sinclair Inn operated for more than 150 years before closing in 1950. Today the building is home to the Sinclair Inn Museum.
Waymark Code: WMPGHD
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 08/28/2015
Views: 4
Due to both its age and its mix of materials, techniques and styles, the Sinclair Inn has been decreed both a National Historic Site and a Provincial Heritage Resource. By a scant two years, this appears to be the second oldest surviving Acadian structure in Canada. The oldest, the de Gannes-Cosby House, built in 1708, is also in Annapolis Royal.
In 1738 the first Canadian Masonic Lodge meeting was held in this building. Despite some evidence that a Masonic Lodge existed in Annapolis Royal in the years 1721-23, sometime in 1738, Major Erasmus James Philipps, with the assistance of William Shireff, established what was the first Freemason’s Lodge in Canada.
After the inn closed the building hosted a series of small businesses and fell into disrepair. In 1981 it was purchased by the Heritage Canada Foundation which stabilized and renovated the structure. In 1984 the Historic Restoration Society (now the Annapolis Heritage Society) took over ownership of the building, but it was not until about 2003 that the museum opened, with the aid of gifts and grants from several sources.
Below is the beginning of an article by the Annapolis Heritage Society outlining the methods and materials used in the construction of the two houses, the Soullard House and the Skene House, and styles and methods that followed which, combined, comprise the building we see today. Follow the link at the bottom to complete the story.
It must be noted that late 17th and early 18th century construction of houses in Annapolis Royal was of a rural style, as opposed to city homes in, say, New England. Such buildings would normally be one and a half stories, and would be modest both on the outside and the inside.
The rough to smooth progression of architectural refinements to the floors, walls, doors, and ceilings of houses can be seen throughout the Sinclair Inn. These changes are the customary progression for most buildings over the past 300 years, reflecting technological changes in styles and materials, as well as the personal preferences and economic prosperity of owners.
Foundations were usually of fieldstone, and of dry, or clay-mortared construction. In the case of the Soullard House, there was no foundation, and the sill plates were set up on the bare ground. The Skene House was moved and set on an existing foundation.
Large hand hewn beams were shaped with a broadaxe, and set into the rock foundations. Wall frames of hand hewn stud timbers were strengthened with diagonal timbers of a similar nature as the studs. Mortice and tenon joints and rough wooden pins were used to join the corners. These joints would be cut with augurs, chisel and mallet.
Rafters, plates (horizontal timbers at the top of the wall on which the rafters rested) and joists were hand hewn, sometimes only minimally.
Once the studs were in place, under boarding, which only became common in the latter part of the 1600s, and which consisted of large sawn planks up to 21 inches in width, was applied to the exterior of the building. Clapboards, which were the typical final finish for the exterior wall, would then be applied to the under boarding. Handmade nails would be used to attach both the under boarding and the clapboards to the structure.
From the Annapolis Heritage Society
Sinclair Inn
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Sinclair Inn is a two-and-a-half storey, Georgian style building with Classical influences, located on St. George Street, in the center of the town of Annapolis Royal, NS. The Inn is the result of the joining of an early eighteenth century French home with an Acadian style building. Both the inn and its surrounding property are included in the provincial designation.
HERITAGE VALUE
The Sinclair Inn is valued for its age, construction methods and architectural history.
The building that is now known as the Sinclair Inn is a combination of two pre-existing early eighteenth century buildings. The first section of the inn, the section that faces St. George Street, was once owned by Jean-Baptiste Soullard, a gunsmith and silversmith for the French garrison at Port Royal, and was erected between 1708 and 1710. The house is original to the existing location and was a full two-storey structure with a gable roof running parallel to the street. The second building, which forms the rear two-thirds of building, was built in 1711 for Dr. William Skene who was the surgeon to the British garrison at Annapolis Royal (Port Royal was transferred to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713) and a member of the Governing Council of Nova Scotia. Some of the wall cavities of the Skene house are filled with wattle and daub, a common medieval infill technique of sand and salt marsh hay.
In 1781 Frederick Sinclair amalgamated the two structures and added a new roof that extended over to the street to re-cover the Soullard house. To convey a unified building, Sinclair replaced the existing center window with a door and added a dormer on top of the door of the long façade, giving the building a Georgian appearance with Classical influences. The value in the building lies in its combination of two district buildings and in remaining elements in the building that communicate the amalgamation.
The Sinclair Inn is also valued for its role in the history of Annapolis Royal as an inn through much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Frederick Sinclair had previously operated a tavern and inn in the nearby Adams-Ritchie House until his 1781 conversion of the Skene and Soullard houses. Sinclair later expanded his business to accommodate more guests with the addition of the one and a half storey on the Skene portion of the building. Following his death, Sinclair’s widow Mary continued to run the inn until her death in 1818. The building continued to be operated a as an inn for the next one- hundred-and-thirty years, passing through many owners, closing in the 1950’s. During this time it operated under various names, including the Temperance House, Annapolis Royal Hotel, Anderson’s Hotel and the Farmer’s Hotel.
The first Canadian Masonic Lodge meeting was held in 1738 in what is now the Sinclair Inn. The Lodge was founded by Major Erasmus James Phillips, also a member of the Governing Council of Nova Scotia.
The Annapolis Heritage Society now owns the Sinclair Inn and operates it as a museum, interpreting the architectural and social history of the site.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- historic clapboard on front and the street elevation;
- A-dormer on the top of the front door with fanlight;
- all Georgian style elements including: five bay symmetrical façade, fanlights, and twelve-over-eight double hung windows;
- wooden paneled doors for both street and front entrance;
- all Classical elements including: Classically detailed pediment, prominent front entrance with door mouldings, and transom;
- original interior elements including: all elements that demonstrate the Acadian and French methods of construction including waddle and daub insulated wall cavities, stenciled floorboards re-used as supports for new lathing, trim, wainscoting, and mural painted on all four walls of the second floor room facing St. George Street (presently covered by wallpaper).
From Historic Places Canada
URL of Page from Heritage Register: [Web Link]
Site's Own URL: [Web Link]
Address of site:
230 St. George Street
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
B0S 1A0
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