Description of Historic Place

The Charles Horsnell House is a two-storey, wooden Italianate residence built on a corner lot in the Town of St. Andrews in 1903.

Heritage Value

The Charles Horsnell House is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with its original owner, Charles Horsnell.

Charles Horsnell was born about 1860 in Moncton but lived several years in St. Stephen before moving to St. Andrews in 1903 and building this home. Mr. Horsnell was a stone mason, road supervisor and hotel proprietor. Charles Horsnell supervised the extensive stonework carried out on Sir William Van Horne’s estate on Minister’s Island, an increasingly famous National Historic Site of Canada off of St. Andrews. He built the stone walls, the circular bath house and carried out the dynamiting of the pool carved out of the rocks just below.

Mr. Horsnell also constructed the stone fence along the Anglican cemetery in St. Andrews and did extensive work at the Algonquin Hotel. Although he was a distinguished mason, he built his own home of wood, with the foundation of solid granite, sized and placed by him. The granite was taken from the nearby St. George quarry. His son, Herbert, passed away here in 1923 as a result of injuries sustained during the war. Mr. Horsnell passed away here in 1930 but the home stayed in his family until 1961.

The Charles Horsnell House is also recognized as being a good example of Italianate residential architecture. This style is evident such details as the square massing and the beautifully carved brackets and pendants located under the eaves and at the top of the posts which support the veranda. The home also consists of a semi-octagonal bay window crowned by a large pediment.

Source: Charlotte County Archives – Old Gaol, St. Andrews, New Brunswick – St. Andrews Historic Places File, “Charles Horsnell House”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of this Italianate home include:
- two-storey square massing;
- placement and proportions of vertical sliding 2/1 wood framed windows;
- hipped roof;
- highly ornate scrolled paired brackets, fretwork, and drop finials at under the eaves and crowning the posts of the veranda;
- large pediment with oval arched window in tympanum crowning the semi-octagonal bay window;
- window entablatures;
- front veranda with ornate moulded posts crowned by ornate scroll-work;
- veranda rails with ornate cut-out design;
- New Brunswick cut freestone foundation.