Description of Historic Place

18 Trafalgar Street is a wood framed, Second Empire style influenced home located in what used to be the Charlottetown Royalty. The Royalty refers to an area of the City which was originally intended as grazing land for the livestock of Charlottetown residents when the town was first mapped out by the British in the 18th Century. The home was once situated on a much larger piece of land but now resides on a smaller piece of property in an area dominated by 1970s and 1980s architecture. The designation encompasses the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 18 Trafalgar Street lies in its well-preserved Second Empire influenced architecture and its importance to the Trafalgar Street streetscape.

Although it is unclear who built 18 Trafalgar Street, we know that it was built in approximately 1875. An examination of aerial photographs and cadastral maps reveal that the home stood by itself on Trafalgar Street for many years. An atlas of Prince Edward Island published by the Cummins Company in approximately 1928, indicates that a farmer named Fred W. Burk owned a large property in the area. The 1915 edition of McAlpine's Directory for Prince Edward Island lists Burk as residing in the Charlottetown Royalty as well. Whether or not an ancestor of Burk built the home, it is not clear.

For most of its history, the home did not face the street however since the 1980s, it was reoriented so that it currently faces Trafalgar Street. 18 Trafalgar Street is still used as a home to this day and has been well preserved. A beautiful example of the Second Empire style and unique in the area, the home is an important part of the streetscape.

The Second Empire style is readily identified by its Mansard roof, an architectural innovation of François Mansart (1598-1666), and popularized by his son, Jules Hardoin Mansart, an architect who worked for France's Louis XIV around 1700. The Mansard roof is almost flat on the top section and has deeply sloping, often curved, lower sections that generally contain dormers. The Second Empire referred to in the style is that of Napoleon III (1852-1870) during whose reign the style flourished, especially in Paris. The style reached Canada through Britain and the United States and was used extensively throughout Charlottetown from approximately 1860 until 1880.

Located in a primarily late 20th century residential area, 18 Trafalgar Street stands out as the oldest home in the vicinity. It was one of a few early homes built in what was referred to as the Charlottetown Royalty. The Royalty had been set-aside in the 1770s to provide farmland for the early citizens of Charlottetown. In time, a number of families of some wealth and prestige established estates there, the properties serving either as their principal residences or as semi-rural retreats. In the mid to late 20th century, the area was subdivided for residential development.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
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Character-Defining Elements

The following Second Empire character-defining elements illustrate 18 Trafalgar Street’s heritage value:

- The home’s wood framed construction
- The Mansard roof with its simple cornice, gabled dormers and extensive eave bracketing
- The style and placement of the tall windows, particularly the windows of the first floor with their shutters and the dormer windows of the roof
- The style and placement of the paneled front door with its sidelights
- The large verandah with its interesting detailing that matches the roof brackets and contrasting balustrade
- The contrasting mouldings such as the door surround
Other character-defining elements that illustrate the heritage value of 18 Trafalgar Street:
- The location of the home on Trafalgar Street