|
The Doctor’s House, 22 Wilson Street Dr. James Nichol arrived in Perth from Scotland in 1837 and around 1840 had the stone building erected. Dr. Nichol was gaol surgeon and justice of the peace from 1854 until his sudden death in 1864. His son, Dr. James Nichol Jr., continued the medical practice from this residence. For a short time Dr. Robert Howdon, surgeon, called this place home, before Dr. Richard Victor Fowler moved to this location in 1896 and continued until his son, Dr. Arthur Coulson Fowler, took over the practice in 1926 until his retirement in 1972. It was during Dr. Richard Victor’s time that the dormer window above the front door was added to give additional light to the upstairs. The Doctor’s House expresses Perth’s early medical care history as it functioned as a residence, office, medicine dispensary, and surgery room over the course of approximately 130 years. An adjoining frame building was erected at the time of building construction to accommodate a space for surgery. A narrow barnlet was constructed in the 19th century, connecting the main house to the peg barn. This structure was added in order to provide efficient access to the peg barn, which housed the doctor’s horse, providing a much-needed means of travel as doctors made their way through the country-side making house calls. This well crafted stone house is an excellent example of the skills of the early stone masons of the day and the classic revival style, which was popular from the 1830s until the 1860s in North America. The current owners have been conscientious in maintaining the heritage features, having the stonework repointed and replacing the windows with heritage wood-mounted, nine-light, traditional-style windows. This building is one of the last of the early private residences, turned commercial, to maintain its residential setting on one of the main streets. The “Doctor’s House” is one of Perth’s treasured heritage homes.
Photograph, c1890’s, from the archives of the Perth
Museum. |