Notice of intention to designate 2366 Sovereign Street

On September 24, 2024, Oakville Town Council resolved to pass a Notice of Intention to Designate the following property under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value and interest:

Elisha and Christina Grice House
2366 Sovereign Street
PCL 165-1, SEC M7; LT 165, PL M7; OAKVILLE 

Description of Property

The property at 2366 Sovereign Street is located on the south side of Sovereign Street, east of Jones Street, north of Lakeshore Road West, and west of Nelson Street in Bronte. The property contains a one-and-a-half storey frame house known as the Elisha and Christina Grice House.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

Design and Physical Value

The Elisha and Christina Grice House has design and physical value as a modest and vernacular example of a Dutch Colonial Revival style house. The house may have been designed and built locally or could have been a kit house from a mail-order company. The one-and-a-half storey L-shaped house has an intersecting Gambrel roof, the most recognizable feature of the Dutch Colonial Revival style house. The simple frame house has a two-bay façade and contains historic one-over-one wood windows and wood trim throughout. While some windows and the cladding has been modernized over time, the house retains its historic form and overall fenestration. 

Historical and Associative Value

The Elisha and Christina Grice House has cultural heritage value because of its direct associations with the theme of late 19th and early 20th century residential development for working-class residents in the Bronte village downtown area. Together with a few nearby houses on Sovereign Street, the subject house is one of the few remaining early 20th century homes in the area and is a physical reminder of this working-class history. The property is also historically associated with its former long-term owners, the Grice, Bray and McKeil families, who contributed to the local Bronte community in a variety of ways. 

Contextual Value

The Elisha and Christina Grice House has cultural heritage value because it is physically, functionally, visually and historically linked to its surroundings, an early 20th century working class neighbourhood characterized by modest vernacular homes. Historically, the streetscape of Sovereign Street was defined by smaller homes on large lots, with small front yard setbacks. Several of these historic modest homes remain, including 2366 Sovereign Street. Together, these remaining buildings are important remnants of Bronte’s late 19th and early 20th century residential development, which was defined by modest vernacular homes built for Bronte’s working class.

Description of Heritage Attributes

Key attributes of the property at 2366 Sovereign Street that exemplify its value as an early 20th century vernacular Dutch Colonial Revival house, as they relate to the west, north and east elevations of the original one-and-a-half storey house, include:

• The L-shaped form and low massing of the structure with its Gambrel roof;
• The fenestration of the first storey on the front elevation with a single front entrance door accompanied by a larger window; 
• The presence of one-over-one windows matching the style of the original windows; and
• The presence of horizontal siding.

Any objection to this designation must be filed no later than October 28, 2024.  Objections must be directed to the Town Clerk at townclerk@oakville.ca or 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6H 0H3. The objection must include the reasons for the objection and all relevant facts.

Further information respecting this proposed designation is available from the Town of Oakville. Any inquiries may be directed to Carolyn Van Sligtenhorst, Supervisor of Heritage Conservation at 905-845-6601, ext.3875 (TTY 905-338-4200), or by email at carolyn.van@oakville.ca. 

Issued at the Town of Oakville on September 27, 2024.