At the corner of Barrington and Bishop Streets, on the east side of Barrington and immediately south of Government House, stand a pair of buildings, the first of stone, the second of brick with stone trim. Both were owned by
, now St. Matthew’s United Church, and used as the manse for the church. This one, built on the corner of Barrington and Wallace Streets, was built in 1828 as the first manse of St. Matthew’s Church. Note that address, "the corner of Barrington and Wallace Streets". No, it wasn't moved, the name was changed and Wallace Street had, at sometime in the dim and distant past (actually about 1878), become Bishop Street.
The building remained the church manse until the construction of its replacement next door in 1875. That building remained the church manse until about 1920, at which time it was sold and converted into medical offices.
Though now better known as the "Stoddard House", after the Stoddard family who owned the house for almost 50 years, its most notable occupant was Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables”, who lived there while attending Dalhousie University. In her novel “Anne of the Island", Lucy Maud makes reference to the building.
Old Presbyterian Manse
(Stoddard House)
Civic Address | 1359-61 Barrington Street
Building Name | Stoddard House
Construction Date | 1828
Original 0wner | St. Matthew’s Church
Architectural Comments:
Stoddard House is a 21/2 storey masonry building with a sandstone façade, ironstone side walls, multi-flue brick chimney, sandstone corner quoins, and a sandstone string course separating the first and second floors. The building has a mansard roof with a bell cast curve, a modest overhang with returned eaves, and a cornice with brackets and dentils. There are 2 dormers on the front and rear facades each having an ornamental pediment and paired sash windows. The ironstone wall visible on Bishop Street is detailed with sandstone lintels, lug sills and quoins. Typical of the Georgian style, the house was raised up from the street level on a tall foundation and laid out in the side hall plan, is three bays wide, and deep from front to back.
At the front of the building, a ground floor ‘storefront’ was added (1919-1931) to serve as an optometrist’s office for the owner. The ‘storefront’ has a central entrance with a copper roof and two three sided projecting bay display windows (also with copper roofs). There is a three storey brick addition at the rear of the building that has a flat roof with a modest overhang and cornice with brackets and dentils. Also, there is a one storey brick double car garage attached to the brick
addition. All windows are vertically proportioned, two-over-two sash windows with sandstone lug sills and are slightly recessed into their openings.
Granite stone steps with decorative wrought iron railing lead to the main entrance which is comprised of a wood panel door with glass in the upper panel, two rectangular side lights with wooden panels below and glass in the upper, and a group of transom windows above. It should be noted that there is a cannon protruding from the concrete sidewalk adjacent to the front steps of Stoddard House. It is one of the last remaining cannons in Halifax (in this manner) and was used as a bumper for carriage wheels as they passed by.
Stoddard House is in good physical condition; however, there have been several alterations. At the time of construction, the building had a truncated gable roof. During the 1890s the roof was changed to a mansard and wooden dormers were added. During 1875-1890, a brick addition was attached to the rear of the original building (used as an office). The addition of the ‘storefront’ was completed during 1919-1931 for commercial use (an opticians shop). The two car garage attached to the rear office was completed at a later date.
There is a small section of land at the rear of the lot that is still vacant. Historical documents indicate that the space behind the original house was used a garden; however, there are no visible signs of any original use.
Historical Associations:
Stoddard House is valued for its historical associations with St. Matthew’s Church and its tenants. Reverend John Scott occupied the manse from 1830-1860. Reverend George M. Grant lived there briefly from 1874-1875 (he then moved into the adjacent new manse, St. Matthew’s Manse). Rev. Grant left Halifax in 1878 and played an important role in shaping Queen’s University and College in Kingston, Ontario. Grant also served as secretary to Sir Sanford Fleming during the development of
the trans-Canada railway.
The building is named after the Stoddard family who owned the house for almost 50 years (1931-1980). Another notable tenant was Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables” who lived there while attending Dalhousie University. The building is described in her novel “Anne of the Island".
Interestingly, the inscription “Wallace Street” is carved into one of the sandstone quoins on the corner of the building. Wallace Street, now Bishop Street, was named after the Honourable Michael Wallace, who lived in this building. This is the only remaining evidence of Wallace Street before it was renamed (1831-1878).
From Shape Your City Halifax