Angel House
(St. John's)

Ancestral home of the Angel Family from 1879 to 1997, the structure at 146 Hamilton Avenue is a good example of the Second Empire style. Also known as "Angel House," the structure was built circa 1878-1879 by the Hon. James Angel, who is perhaps most readily associated with the United Nail and Foundry, one of the incarnations of the family ironworks that operated from the 1850s until 1982. This company was responsible for many historic firsts in the province, among them, Newfoundland's first steam engine, first steel boiler and first steel-hulled ship. Angel was a member of the Legislative Council during Sir William Whiteway's administration, chair of the Methodist Orphanage Committee, a governor of the Methodist College and a founder of the George St. Methodist (now United) Church.

Angel House, St. John's, NL
Angel House, St. John's, NL
Angel House is a good example of the Second Empire style of architecture.
© 2000 Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador

The house predates most of the other developments on Hamilton Avenue and while perhaps not as ornate as some of the other houses of the 1890s, it has a quiet elegance in terms of scale, symmetry and detail and has been little altered since first built. Considerably larger than the surrounding houses, Angel House is very much a reflection of the affluence and social status of the Angel family. Set back from the road on an almost one acre lot, the house has an estate-like quality because of its well-preserved garden with a great variety of trees including apple, cherry, walnut, chestnut, elms, lilacs, several 60 year old rhododendrons and a Virginia Creeper dating back to the 1920s.

Angel House has two storeys plus a basement, a centre hall floor plan with back to back fireplaces on the main floor. It has a mansard roof and there is a verandah on the front with access from the porch. The east side of the home features four bay windows. The eaves are decorative, with dentils on the east side and an ornamental bargeboard on the west. Its most prominent architectural feature is the five-sided Scotch dormer which stands proudly in the mansard roof. Also of note are the ornate wrought-iron fencing and the pillared entrance to the driveway.

The Angel House was designated as a Registered Heritage Structure in March 2000.

Registered Heritage Structures Table of Contents

Also view the Angel House Registered Heritage Structure, and the Angel House - City of St. John's Heritage Site on the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador web site. The Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site has on its site only a portion of the registered heritage structures in Newfoundland and Labrador. To view a complete list or search for a particular structure visit the Heritage Foundation's Property Search page.