06/18/2026
Two photos of the property located at 128 Mowatt Street, at the southeast corner of Mowatt and Ann Streets, beside the Anglican Church Hall. The first photo was taken in the 1980s and the second in Jun 2026.
The large two-storey New England Colonial, dating from the late 1860s, is thought to have been built by Shelburne carpenter Caleb Edward Allen who is known for having constructed many buildings in the Shelburne area. The house sits low on a granite foundation and has a steeply pitched gable roof. Although clad in vinyl siding, it still retains some of its original architectural features such as returned eaves, a three-bay symmetrical façade, mantle shelves above the windows and corner boards. The front entry features single-paned sidelights on either side and is covered by an open porch supported by square posts. There is a one-storey rectangular bay window on the north wall, facing Ann Street. A granite hitching post is visible at the northwest corner of the house.
The property, consisting of two lots, was originally owned by Shelburne merchant Thomas J. Crowell and then passed on to his heirs following his death in 1845. The property was then acquired by the Right Reverend Hibbert Binney in 1864. He was the fourth Bishop of Nova Scotia and purchased the two lots for the grand sum of $240, for the express purpose of “the er****on of a manse or parsonage house”.
It is believed that David Nickerson, a newly-hired curate, was the first to occupy the manse from 1868 - 1872. The Reverend Thomas Howland White, who was a long-serving minister at Christ Church, lived in his own home at 121 Water Street. At the time of his death, Reverend White was the senior priest of the Anglican Church in Canada, having spent nearly 70 years in the ministry. The second curate to reside at the parsonage was the Reverend Cecil Wiggins from 1873 – 1881. In the first half of the 20th century, Reverend David Warner, who served as both dean and rector at Christ Church from 1909 – 1914, was one of the first from Shelburne County to offer his services in WWI and was stationed as a chaplain in France.
In the late 1940s, the property included the rectory, a barn and a garden on the south side. The barn, which was originally a shelter for animals and storage for hay, was eventually used as a garage. In the 1950s, the manse is described as including a large kitchen, dining room, study and living room on the first floor, four bedrooms and a washroom on the second floor, as well as a cellar and an attic. The kitchen area featured a big pantry, as well as a door onto a back porch and a second door to an attached wood shed. The kitchen, porch and wood shed were later demolished and replaced with a smaller and more modern kitchen.
Some 160 years later, the building still serves as the rectory for the Anglican church with the new minister, Alice Parsitau, recently taking up residence.
