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| Name |
William Brennan |
| Gender |
Male |
| Residence |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada  [2] |
Address:
316 Bruyère Street |
- Photo - The “Brennan” House, 316 Bruyère Street (after alterations)
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| Person ID |
I28153 |
Lowertown |
| Last Modified |
28 Mar 2021 |
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| Notes |
- The “Brennan” House (316 Bruyère Street)
The smallest and most modest of the four heritage buildings is likely the most valuable one as well. The small house at 316 Bruyère is quite possibly the oldest building left in Lowertown East, having been built approximately 140 years ago. The property was sold by Ottawa’s first Catholic bishop, Guigues, to William Brennan, an Irish immigrant and labourer, in 1866, and remained in the Brennan family until 1955. The Brennan house is representative of the many “cottage” like “workman’s” houses that would have existed in this section of Lowertown East over the years. According to the old fire insurance plans, 316 Bruyère was a one and a half-storey house for much of its lifetime. This means that it would have had a wood shingled roof likely with dormer windows. The following two photographs depi
ct what 316 Bruyère would have looked like (approximately) before being altered in later years and a photograph of 316 Bruyère as it appears today. The doors and windows were likely in the same location as they are today, and would have represented a variation of the house depicted in the
St. Patrick Street photo. It is one of only 5 buildings left in Lowertown East that would have had side gabled roofs. Oddly, despite the rarity of this building, it does not appear on the City of Ottawa’s Heritage Reference List.
With proper care, 316 Bruyère could be rehabilitated to its former self.
Not long after buying the property, William Brennan built a house at 316 Bruyère Street. At the time, the street was actually called "Water" Street, because it ran along the Rideau River. The house was on one side of Water
Street and the river was on the other side. Over the years, the city filled in a portion of the river and eventually created a park, which is known today as Bordeleau Park.
According to the 1881 Census, William (65 years old) was living with his wife Anilaina (56), and two sons, Alfred James (23), and William (19). It's not clear whether or not William and Anilaina had other children, but give n their age in 1881, it is likely that they might have had others. William senior was listed as a labourer, Alfred James was a plumber and William junior was a printer. According to the 1891 Census, Anilaina had passed away and William was then living with his son Alfred James and daughter-in-law, Mary Jane. Mary Pinard (nee: Burgess), Mary Jane's widowed mother, was also living with them.
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