45. Baronial Gothic Revival

The Baronial Gothic Revival is a style used to create castles. (In Scotland it became popular during that country's renaissance period where it was dubbed the Scottish Baronial.) Toronto has a wonderful example in Casa Loma. If you were ever fascinated by castles when you were young this is a place (museum) that you must visit. (Your children can probably relate to it if they have been fans of Harry Potter and Hogwarts, the school in a Baronial Gothic Revival castle.)

What to look for (clues)

• The building is massive and built out of stone or brick.

• It has a wide range of features associated with Gothic Revival; multiple chimneys, numerous roofs, crenallated battlements on some roofs (where the soldiers could fire arrows at the attacking enemy), turrets, towers with witch's hats, pointed windows (lancet), rows of rectangular windows, stepped gables, a massive entryway and on and on.

• It's upkeep would be too expensive for anyone that doesn't have numerous millions.

Where to find it

The style is frequently used for government armouries.
St. Marys has one that used to be an opera house many years ago.

44. 'Quebec' House

The 'Quebec House' came into existence in the province of Quebec near the end of the 19th century. The style proved so popular over the years that it seemed to represent the province and hence the unusual name. The one shown here can be found, along with numerous other examples, on I'le d'Orleans, a beautiful island in the St. Lawrence River to the east of Quebec City.

What to look for (clues)

• Symmetrical. Small to medium in size, and raised a little from the ground. The longer side of the rectangle faces the street.
  

• The gable roof is quite large and steep. Dormer windows project through the roof. The roof is normally curved at the eaves (bell cast) to better deal with the snow in the area.

• Central stairs lead to the building-wide covered verandah.

• Large double-casement windows open inward. There may be two or four on the main level. When the house was built, wooden shutters would be employed during the winter to retain the warmth. Nowadays these may be replaced by a second set of windows covering the first.
  

• Walls may be masonry or stonework. Stucco is often applied over the masonry. A wood siding sometimes shields the wall that faces the worst weather.

Modern versions of the 'Quebec' house frequently have beautifully carved and painted frames around the doors and windows. Colours tend to be brighter and more dramatic than those used in Ontario homes.
Some of the verandahs are quite decorative.

Where to find it

As observed earlier the style is quite common in the older areas of Quebec. In addition, you are likely to find examples in the areas of Ontario and New Brunswick that border Quebec.
For some marvelous old Quebec homes, drive along one of the nation's oldest roads, the Avenue Royale, from Quebec City east towards Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre or the 1735 road, Le Chemin du Roy, from Quebec City west to Montreal.

42. Italian Eclectic

An Eclectic House is one which clearly belongs to a specific architectural family, but doesn't mirror the features of one of the 'originals' (e.g. Italian Villa or Italianate).
(During the time period from 1850 - 1900 many Ontario homes 'borrowed' styling elements from existing houses. The Italian Eclectic was one of the most popular choices.)
















What to look for (clues)

• Windows: The main windows will be large with two panes. The top of the upper window will be either an arch (rounded) shape or the frame of the window will have the arch. Commonly there will be vertical bricks above the window frame in an arch form.

• Eaves: The eaves will be wide and supported by large brackets that are often paired.

• Entryways: The entryways vary greatly from house to house. There is no set pattern. Some are extremely elaborate, especially the door portion.

• Polychromed brick of two colours is sometimes used as a decorative element.

• There may be cupolas on the roof.

• There are normally shutters on all the large windows.

Where to find it

A very large number of Ontario houses have some of the above styling clues. I hope to sort these out into further style names at a later date.

43. Vernacular - Attic Gable Style # 1

A 'Vernacular Style' is one where a significant number of nearly identical homes (which may be an offshoot of a major style or unrelated to anything) appears in two or three areas of a city or region. The style 'may' be copied in other places, but it's not likely to be in large numbers.
The home dubbed 'Attic Gable Style # 1' (1900 - 1920) fits this category and can be found in older regions of the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo.

What to look for (clues)

• There is normally a verandah that covers either 1/2 or all of the facade on the main level.

• Above the verandah are 3 gables set on different planes and usually of different sizes. They all face towards the street.

• The frontmost gable often has a side door that leads to a small balcony.

• Side gables also exist as part of the roof.

• (There is another type of Vernacular Attic Style # 2 that exists in the area as well. It involves a massive single gable that almost overwhelms the building.)

Where to find it

I have found other single examples in other urban centers in the Waterloo Region.
The example shown above could be considered part of the Queen Anne family of houses.

0-2 Identifying Housing Styles

3) I was recently bedeviled by a new publication
by a very respected writer who identified some
houses with style names that are at odds with
other publications over the last few years. In one
particular case another Guelph house, that had
been used as the finest example of a Regency
house, was named as possessing a totally
different style !
4) And, sometimes, to add further to the confusion,
smaller houses of some styles have been enlarged
into a totally different style.
[Above: A Tudor in Kitchener.]

[Left: Art Moderne in Quebec City.]



The identification of building styles is very contentious and despite all my research I know that sometimes I am going to make mistakes. Rather than junk years of work, I am going to proceed by applying the names that I feel most aptly reflect the building styles. I will also happily add the names used by other writers.
I will, in addition, attempt to refine some of the more generic terms, like Tudor, into identifiable groups (e.g. Medieval English Cottage, Jacobethan, Edwardian, Queen Anne, etc.).

0-1. Identifying Housing Styles

What Style Is That ?

Winston Churchill once described the U.S.S.R. as follows, "Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma". That would pretty much sum up the the situation regarding the identification of housing styles as well. Let me give you some examples.
1) A surprising number of people, who should often know otherwise, use generic names to apply to homes that actually have much more specific names. Examples of this vagueness might be; Victorian, Gothic, Tudor, Gothic Revival, Neoclassical, Italian , English and Venacular (local).
[This is a Second Empire from Annapolis Royal
Nova Scotia.]

2) There is much disagreement among architectural writers
about the proper names for various styles. I know a house in
Guelph that has been identified as (1) Queen Anne,
(2) Richardson Romanesque and (3) Baronial Queen Anne by
three esteemed authors.
[This is a Federal house in Woodstock.]

1-1 Historical Georgians

The Georgian is the only style where I can show some very, old, surviving examples.

I can't give you a date for this large, stone Georgian. It is located not far from the St. Lawrence River on one of Canada's oldest roads leading out from Quebec City. Note the exceedingly steep gable roof needed to keep the snow off





In 1797 a New Hampshire farmer moved to Bath, Ontario (west of Kingston) and built this house. Today it's a museum.










It's called the 'Battlefield House' in Stoney Creek.
On 06 June 1813 an American army was camped beside this Georgian home. From this position a smaller British army swept down the hill at night, captured all the American officers and drove off the invaders.








This 1800 Georgian, residing along the Niagara Parkway to the north of Niagara-on-the-Lake, had also been seized by American forces in the same war. Although damaged by the enemy, it was rebuilt and is now a museum.