Dock Road Premises (Trinity)
Dock Road Premises (Trinity)![[Dock Road Premises: Image]](029.jpg)
The three buildings in this sketch all date from the last two decades of the Nineteenth Century. If anything constitutes a village square in the Newfoundland outport -- and both the concept and the term are alien to Newfoundland -- this section of Dock Road would be it. The Parish Hall, the Government Building, the hotel and, most importantly, the dock bring together a number of important public functions on one site. The first building, the Parish Hall, is the youngest of the group. Begun in 1898 and essentially completed by 1905, it was not until 1908 that the parish took possession of it. With the exception of its curious tower the Parish Hall is a functional structure with a stage in the main hall upstairs and several rooms, serving various purposes, below. William Lockyer of Trinity was the master builder and material was obtained locally as well as from St. John's.
The public building is in the tradition of a number of such structures that were built in the principal towns of Newfoundland at the end of the Nineteenth Century. Each has three storeys, a mansard roof and an offset tower. While in the Second Empire Style it is unclear which, if any, architect was responsible for the design.
Jenkins Hostelry, as the house on the edge of the dock was known in the first part of this century, was built in the late 1880's for Mrs. Mary LouisaJenkins. Under her management it was known as the Hiscock Property.
An interesting gathering of buildings is found not far from St. Paul's on the Hiscock property. Consisting of a house, shop, outhouse and several sheds, it is still owned by the children of Richard Hiscock for whom it was built. David Grant built the house for Mr. Hiscock and his bride, Emma Catherine Pittman, in 1881. When Mr. Hiscock drowned at sea in 1893 his widow and children continued to occupy the house. For a time the portion that is now the shop served as a Post Office. Alterations to the house have been few: the dormer windows and part of the front-door detail were removed several years ago.