Description of Historic Place

The Samuel Hatfield Building is a wooden two-storey Italianate double home. It is a symmetrically-planned duplex with dual entrances in the centre of the front façade and semi-octagonal bay windows in the outer bays. It is located in a residential area of Saint John's Central Peninsula.

Heritage Value

The Samuel Hatfield Building is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with Samuel F. Hatfield, who had a career in Saint John's significant shipping industry.

The Samuel Hatfield Building is recognized as a good example of Italianate residential architecture in Saint John. Among the features that identify this style on this building include the wide overhanging denticulated cornice with decorative single brackets and a wide frieze band. This style is also evident in the entablatures, in the design of the entrances and in the moulded surrounds. The massing is symmetrical, with mirrored front façade of which as the dual central entrances share the central portion and semi-octagonal bay windows occupy the outer bays.

Samuel Fairweather Hatfield had this building constructed in 1889 and moved here that same year. He remained here for 36 years until his death in 1925. Mr. Hatfield was engaged in the ship chandlery business and in shipping for many years. He came to Saint John in 1868 and engaged in the ship chandlery business with Robert Gregory as Hatfield and Gregory from 1874 to 1882. Upon Mr. Gregory’s death, Samuel Hatfield became associated with E. C. Elkin in the same business as Elkin and Hatfield until 1900. Elkin and Hatfield were outfitters, importers and dealers in Ship Chandlery. Saint John was an important seaport and the centre of a large shipping trade and ship chandlery was a prominent branch of the trade. They supplied vessels with ropes, canvas, paints, oils, and naval stores generally. Elkin and Hatfield bought their goods direct from the manufacturers. Mr. Hatfield then continued the business alone until 1904. He was interested in shipping until 1918 and had interests in many vessels which sailed from Saint John to all ports of the world.

Source: Planning and Development Department – City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of this Italianate building include:
- two-storey plan with mirror image symmetrical units;
- window placement and proportions;
- dual semi-octagonal bay windows;
- bracketed roof-line cornice with elaborate frieze mouldings;
- paneled surrounds on doors and windows;
- bracketed cornice over each rank of openings in the bay window;
- corner boards in the spandrels between the windows of the bays;
- corner boards on each end of the building;
- single windows above each entrance with bracketed entablatures;
- narrow clapboard siding.

The character-defining elements of the entranceway include:
- dual central entrances;
- shared entablature with scrolled brackets;
- tall, paired wood-paneled doors;
- rectangular transom window over each entrance.