Place Description
22 West Street is an impressive Richardsonian Romanesque inspired home constructed in stone. It has a prominent location on the corner of West and Kent Streets. It was one of the most fashionable areas of Charlottetown in the late 19th Century. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.
Why is this place important?
The heritage value of 22 West Street lies in its well preserved Richardsonian Romanesque architecture; its association with various Charlottetown residents; and its role in supporting the West and Kent Street streetscapes.
22 West Street was constructed in 1892 for railway accountant, Richard Young. He hired talented architect, William Critchlow Harris to design the beautiful home. The bulk of the stone for 22 West Street was imported Wallace stone but the facings are of Island sandstone - one of Harris' favourite materials.
The new home did not escape the notice of the Weekly Examiner newspaper, which described the home as "a gem". Merchant tailor, James Beales, purchased it shortly after it was built, for what was then the large sum of 5000 dollars. The Beales family referred to the home affectionately as the Priory. According to local directories, family member, Frank Beales remained a resident of the home until at least 1935.
22 West Street was influenced by the Victorian Eclectic and the Richardsonian Romanesque styles. The massive sandstone walls, the fenestration, the loggia and the stone stringcourses are features of the Richardsonian Romanesque style which is a revival based on French and Spanish Romanesque precedents of the 11th Century. It was named for architect, Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886) whose design of the Trinity Church rectory in Boston defined the style.
A striking home among a number of impressive homes, it helps support the West and Kent Street streetscapes.
Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
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Special Characteristics
The following character-defining elements contribute to the heritage value of 22 West Street:
- The overall massing of the building with its two storeys
- The stone exterior with decorative stringcourses, stone lintels and sills and the loggia on the south side of the home
- The asymmetrical façade
- The cross gable roof
- The style and placement of the windows, particularly the grouped windows and the arched stained glass windows
- The size and off centre placement of the paneled door
- The style and placement of the chimneys
- The location of the building on the corner of Kent and West Street and its physical and visual relationship to its streetscape
