Description of Historic Place

The William Barber House is located at 5155 Mississauga, on the northeast corner of Mississauga Road and Barbertown Road, in the City of Mississauga. The two-storey Italianate brick building was constructed in circa 1860.

The property was designated by the City of Mississauga, in 1982, for its heritage value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 386-82).

Heritage Value

Located at 5155 Mississauga Road, the William Barber House is situated on the northeast corner at Barbertown Road; set back on a large lot, it dominates the surrounding area. Especially important is its prominent location on Mississauga Road, which is recognized as a Cultural Landscape, as it is one of the city's oldest and most picturesque thoroughfares.

The William Barber House is associated with the prominent Barber family. It was the home of William Barber, one of the founders of the Toronto Woollen Mills. The Toronto Woollen Mills was a thriving industry throughout much of the nineteenth century and one of the largest employers in the area. It is believed that William Barber had the house built in circa 1860, possibly by Robert Leslie, a local builder. It was an imposing brick residence suitable for the owner of the business that dominated the local community.

The William Barber house is a good representation of Italianate architecture with Classical Revival and vernacular influences, designed to house the owner of the business that dominated the community. The main structure has a square plan and a hip roof. The Italianate style of architecture is seen through the use of paired brackets along its eaves, whereas the dentil detailing demonstrates Classical Revival influences. The facade has five bays. The windows are six over six, double hung sash with radiating voussoirs, in brick, and stone lugsills. Similar patterns are repeated on the north and south elevations, but all those windows have louvered shutters. The front door is set within an umbrage with particularly impressive plasterwork. The extravagant entrance has inset sidelights and a three paned transom, above the six-panelled door. The tent-roofed veranda along the facade, however, possesses original tree-like fretwork. There have been many additions to the original structure.

Sources: City of Mississauga By-law 368-82.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the William Barber House include its:
- prominent setback on Mississauga Road
- two-storey brick exterior
- hip, gable and flat roofs
- four internally bracketed chimneys
- cornice with moulded wooden fascia and a frieze of double pendant brackets with dentil trim
- finial at the apex of the centre gable on west elevation
- 6 over 6 double hung sash windows with radiating voussoirs in brick
- stone lugsills
- louvered shutters
- umbrage and ceiling decorated by plaster mouldings in leaf patterns
- protruding main entrance with inset sidelights and three paned transom above
- veranda extending across front of house with tent roof and tree-like fretwork
- original fireplaces and decorative plasterwork
- glass-enclosed balcony