Description of Historic Place

The house at 22 Main Street in the Village of Victoria is built in the Gothic Revival centre gable style. It is situated in a dominant location across the street from the Victoria Community Centre and Playhouse. The registration includes the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

22 Main Street is valued for its Gothic Revival centre gable architectural features; for its association with former residents of the Village of Victoria; and for its contribution to the streetscape.

Meacham's 1880 Atlas of PEI shows a house with a similar configuration to the current building at its present location. The property was owned at this time by merchant, Henry Wadman.

People who would be associated with the house in its history include Pauline Stordy, Benjamin Webster, Wesley Myers, Josiah Brooks, Donald Murchison, and the Keough family. Today, it also operates as an ice cream parlour.

The house may have been built as early as the 1850s or 1860s in the Gothic Revival centre gable style. The large pitched centre gable roof faces onto Main Street and has original eave bracketting and eave returns. The fenestration of the west facade has been changed with the addition of two large picture windows on either side of the entrance and the replacement of the window in the second storey gable with a small sash window. These windows were usually much larger and more elaborate often with a pointed arch. The window casements of the second storey west elevation are original with window hood moulding. A picture window has replaced the six over six windows which were on the first storey. The fenestration of the windows at the back of the house (east elevation) has also changed.

The best preserved Gothic Revival element of the house is the elaborate central entrance door - complete with sidelights and transom window. Its 13 individual panes are said to represent the 13 original British colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, which formed the United States in 1776. It was a design favoured by United Empire Loyalists who came north after the Revolution.

The door has a hood moulding with classical fluted pilasters as supports. It is indicative of the kind of window/door moulding that was likely common to the original house.

Despite modifications in its history, 22 Main Street still retains interesting architectural features and is an asset to its streetscape.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/V15

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the Gothic Revival centre gable style of 22 Main Street:

- The massing of the home with its symmetrical facade
- The large pitched centre gable roof facing onto the street
- The original eave brackets along the roofline
- The building's wood framed construction with its original wooden clapboard
- The symmetry of the window style and placement on the front elevation (somewhat altered with the addition of a modern picture window replacing 2 original windows on the both sides of the door)
- The original 13-pane transom and sidelight front entry door. This design element is in the style of the Empire Loyalists, the 13 panes representing the Thirteen Colonies
- The centrally placed panelled door
- The east wall with its original cedar shingles
- The decorative lintels and hood mouldings over the windows and doors
- This building's original Island sandstone foundation

Other character-defining elements of 22 Main Street include:

- The building's prominent location on Main Street, making it an important aspect of the Victoria streetscape