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Fairholm National Historic Site of Canada

230 Prince Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, C1A, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1992/06/07

General view of the Fairholm villa showing the smoothly curving bowed windows running the full height of the facade; the deep eaves; and the extensive grounds surrounding the house, 2006.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 2006.
General view
General view of the Fairholm villa emphasizing the symmetry of the main façade; the central door surrounded by sidelights and a graceful elliptical fanlight; and the even disposition of openings, 2006.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 2006
General view
Corner view of the Fairholm villa showing the mottled red brick walls; and cut stone used as lintels over the windows, for the raised basement, and as a string course between the two storeys.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, n.d.
Corner View

Other Name(s)

Fairholm
Fairholm
Fairholm Inn and Carriage House
Fairholm National Historic Site of Canada
Fairholm

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1839/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2004/02/26

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Fairholm is an early-19th century, brick villa with a former carriage house, located on a large, rectangular property in the city of Charlottetown. The formal recognition consists of the house, the carriage house, and the legal property on which they sat at the time of recognition.

Heritage Value

Fairholm was designated a national historic site in 1992 because it is a fine and rare surviving example of a Picturesque villa in Atlantic Canada.

Fairholm exemplifies the Picturesque villa as it was interpreted in Atlantic Canada, where the Picturesque aesthetic retained the stately classicism popular in the Maritime provinces. Built for politician and administrator T.H. Haviland Sr. (1795-1867), it is a rare example of early brick construction both on Prince Edward Island and within the Picturesque villa inventory. The spacious grounds reinforce the Picturesque qualities of the villa. A late-19th-century carriage house helps complete the villa landscape.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minute, February 1992; Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Plaque Text, 1993

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that relate to the heritage value of this site include:
- features which express the Picturesque aesthetic, including: the smoothly curving bowed windows running the full height of the facade; the deep eaves; and the extensive grounds surrounding the house
- its classical form, consisting of a two-storey block, capped by a gently pitched hip roof framed by four end chimneys
- its classical symmetry and details, evident in: the symmetry of the main façade; the central door surrounded by sidelights and a graceful elliptical fanlight; and the even disposition of openings
- its materials, including: mottled red brick walls; and cut stone used as lintels over the windows, for the raised basement, and as a string course between the two storeys
- its classical centre-hall plan, with double drawing room and study on one side; dining room, butler's pantry and kitchen on the other; bedrooms arranged around a central hall on the second storey, and servants' rooms on the third floor, accessed by narrow back stairs
- Neoclassical detailing in its interior spaces, including: ceiling rosettes, wide cornices, and broad, simple mouldings as baseboards and door and window surrounds in the principal rooms; mantelpieces; round-arched window and door openings with cornices and keystones in the upper hall and stairs; and curved, bow windows
- its spacious lot
- the siting, design and proportions of the late-19th-century coach house

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1992/06/07

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design

Function - Category and Type

Current

Residence
Estate

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

577

Status

Published

Related Places

230 Prince Street / Fairholm

230 Prince Street / Fairholm

Fairholm is a rare Atlantic Canadian example of the architectural style influenced by the Picturesque movement. This villa, which exhibits Classical elements, is located on a…

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