Description of Historic Place

12 Kent Street is a wood framed house that shows influences of the Colonial Revival and Shingle styles. Its features include an oculus window, a variety of shingle cladding, grouped columns and decorative porches. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include its interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 12 Kent Street lies in its architectural style; its association with the Beales family; and its role in supporting the Kent Street streetscape.

Frank Beales built 12 Kent Street in approximately 1900. Frank and his family lived nearby for many years at the grand stone house at 22 West Street, a home which his family christened "the Priory".

12 Kent Street shows influence of both the Colonial Revival and Shingle styles. The Colonial Revival style came to Prince Edward Island as a result of the province's familial and economic connections with New England, where it emerged in the 1880s. It was based on North American models and was an effort to simplify and adapt the forms of earlier architectural styles to contemporary needs. A popular style in Charlottetown from approximately 1890 until 1940, 12 Kent Street's Colonial Revival influenced features include stacked bay windows topped with a pediment, a stained glass oculus window in the centre of the gable and porches that include grouped columns. An interesting feature of the front elevation is the small second storey verandah/balcony with round arch and columns above the main entrance.

The Shingle style is illustrated in the variety of shingles used on the facade. The craftsmanship and attention to detail common to the style are apparent in the intricate stick style trim of the centre gable, the corbelling at the eaves, and the moulding around the oculus window.

Located in an area with a number of heritage houses, 12 Kent Street contributes to the streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
#1872

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 12 Kent Street:

- the two-and-one-half storey massing
- the gable rooflines
- the size, shape and placement of the brick chimneys
- the corbelling at the eaves
- the asymmetrical facade
- the gable roof topping the second floor verandah/balcony/porch
- the stacked bay windows topped with pediment
- the intricately carved bargeboard in the peak of the main gable roof
- the size, variety, and location of the decorative shingle cladding
- the size and asymmetrical placement of the windows, particularly the wooden sash four-over-four-windows and the stained glass oculus window
- the size and off centre placement of the entrance
- the size, shape and placement of the porches with their grouped columns