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Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Arch-i-text: Four faces of Gothic Revival
The Erland Lee Home, located in Stoney Creek, Ont., is an expression of Carpenter Gothic at its finest. SUBMITTED
In the rural areas of Pelham, the features of this brick Gothic cottage unite to produce an impressive façade. SUBMITTED
Widely touted in the late 19th century, the Gothic farmhouse was vigorously built across Ontario farmlands. SUBMITTED
A rare of example of High Victorian Gothic expression, this is the Keefer Mansion in Thorold. SUBMITTED

For more than 50 years, from the 1830s to the 1880s, the Gothic Revival style of architecture dominated the Ontario marketplace and continued its popularity in the province into the early 20th century.

In the Arch-i-text column published in this paper on Aug. 31, 2023 (“Training our eyes on the world of Gothic Revival”), we explored the history of the style, its Romantic roots in Britain and the influence of Downing and Louden — through their pattern books — on this side of the Atlantic.

We also identified a few local examples of Gothic Revival but, looking back on that article in hindsight, I realize it really should have been followed by another — one that provided the descriptive details necessary to identify buildings in this style.

Well, better late than never, as they say.

Let’s begin with the Erland Lee Home (now a museum) in Stoney Creek.

Pretty as a picture, it is an expression of Carpenter Gothic at its finest — certainly inspired by, if not drawn directly from the work of A.J. Downing.

The building’s form is what has come to be known as the Ontario Gothic cottage: A rectangular footprint, one-and-a-half storey, symmetrical gable end home with a tall, pointed gable on the façade centred over its main entry, which was flanked by windows on either side.

Typically the façade gable sported an arched window, in this case semi-circular (or half-round).

As is common in the Carpenter expression, the dwelling was clad with board and batten — the light and shadows of which served as a perfect backdrop for decorative bargeboard in both front and end gables (as in this case) or around the entire house.

On the Erland Lee Home, we see a fanciful celebration of the carpenter’s skill expressed in a leaf and vine pattern.

Sometime between 1870 and 1890, the bow windows on the façade were added — another element common to Gothic Revival design during that period (and extending into the early 20th century).

As in the bargeboard, both bays and the porch which unites them are enhanced by a filigreed cornice and geometric grill work. 

Moving on from our wonderful but relatively modest first example, we’ll wander out to the rural areas of Pelham where we find another Ontario Gothic on a larger, more impressive scale.

The typical Gothic cottage storey-and-a-half symmetrical end gabled form, with its full-width verandah, has been augmented by a very high-pitched roof, while the centre gable above the front door extends to over half the width of the façade.

Combined, the roof and very wide gable would significantly increase the area of the full-height ceiling in the “half” storey.

The exclusive use of lancet windows in all the gables added to the saw-tooth bargeboard design used on all the eaves — horizontal and raked — draw the eye upwards to the patress plates set just below the peaks, to the effect of further accentuating the impression of soaring height.

These gable features, coupled with the open verandah design, tall segmentally arched first-floor windows, and a slightly peaked entry entablature unite to produce a very impressive façade on a brick Gothic cottage.

Now, the main entry surround and the verandah design, neither possessing Gothic elements, were very likely the result of more modern Classical Revival-based renovations to the façade.

However, they do not detract from the overall integrity of the original design.

Our next example is again drawn from the country roads of Niagara and represents the Gothic farmhouse expression.

Widely touted in the late 19th century, pattern books as the most practical rural home design, the Gothic farmhouse was vigorously built across Ontario farmlands and in farming communities — with the most common form being cross-gabled, either T or L-shaped, with a footprint that provided generous living space.

Our storey-and-a-half asymmetrical example presents an L-shaped façade with prominent bays on both the cross-gable portion and the end gable.

A rear extension — part of which was likely originally as-built — slightly confuses the footprint (which is predominately T-shaped) but is effectively integrated into the large and somewhat rambling building. That rambling character is common to these farmhouses.

Gable wall dormers, set above a finely decorated porch, rise through the eaves of the façade and the rear extension.

And, while the majority of the windows are segmentally arched with limestone keystones, the gable wall dormers are treated to semi-circular openings accentuating the slender punctuation of each of these elements.

Modillions, set on the cornice of the porch, are repeated on the moulding of the bays sandwiched between brackets which, in turn, have been deployed in the dormers.

The bracket design has been fancifully reflected in the ornamental elements that bracket the slender porch pillars and its roof cornice.

Taken as a whole, this “echoing” design approach provides a continuity that not only unifies the overall presentation but also celebrates the decorative elements inherent to Gothic Revival design.

Finally, no examination of the Gothic Revival would be complete without at least touching on the High Victorian Gothic expression.

Although rare due to their cost of construction and an apparent departure from the other Gothic Revival expressions, these buildings still maintain continuity with the architectural parameters of the style.

One of these rare buildings can be found in Thorold.

It was late in the era of Gothic Revival popularity when this more liberal interpretation of the style developed. Central to this expression was the use of polychromatic cladding to highlight elements.

Decorative ornamental brick, clay tile and carved geometric or leaf-patterned (wood) elements were commonly deployed.

Flat-headed openings for doors and windows were often used to accentuate featured Gothic arched openings, while trim on gables, eaves and porches tended to be both simpler and heavier than the more involved curvilinear trim of the typical Gothic Revival.

In our example, the polychromatic treatment is achieved through the Grimsby red sandstone contrasting against the Queenston limestone and paint treatment of simple geometric decorative elements.

The heavy straight lines of the limestone bevelled lintels and flat sills push the pointed arch of the main entry in the projecting frontispiece even further to the fore.

And speaking of cost … just the stone purchased for this building in 1886 cost $30,000 — that’s equivalent to just over $1 million in 2024.

Even when the bargeboard, other decorative elements and actual windows have been lost to time and costs of maintenance, repair or replacement, there is something about Gothic Revival houses that have stood the test of time.

Watch for them, it’s worth it.

Brian Marshall is a NOTL realtor, author and expert consultant on architectural design, restoration and heritage.

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