Designed by Saint John architects J. C. Dumaresq and H. H. Motta and built by local builder Joshua Limerick, this 19th century brick and stone school was completed in 1885. The completed building contained six classrooms, three on each above-ground level, housing Grades 1 to 8. The basement extends above ground to the top of the stone foundation, above which is brick with bands of sandstone. In 1917 a two-storey addition had become necessary due to overcowding. Today it has become the
to remain standing in Fredericton.
Though it was becoming quite popular by 1885, the Charlotte Street School stands out as one of the few public buildings in Fredericton to be built in the Italianate style. Features of this style include round arched windows throughout the façade, the large keystoned stone arch over the entrance, wide overhanging eaves with large modillions and the triangular pediment with matching triangular gables to either side at the roofline. Four years prior to the construction of the Charlotte Street School, one of its architects, J. C. Dumaresq, had completed Fredericton's
. This explains the similarity of the cupolas atop the two buildings, this having a bellcast roof, the Legislature building a dome.
After educating the children of Fredericton for over a century, in 2005 the old Charlotte Street School became home to the
. The centre styles itself as "
Charlotte Street School
Description of Historic Place
In 1885 Fredericton contractor Joshua Limerick completed Charlotte Street School based upon the design plan of Saint John architects J. C. Dumaresq and H. H. Mott. This two-and-a-half storey Italianate style brick structure is situated in a residential area at the east end of the downtown plat on the south side of Charlotte Street between St. John and Church Streets.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of Charlotte Street School as a Local Historic Place resides in the building's Italianate architecture. Charlotte Street School is one of the few public buildings in Fredericton to embody this architectural style. The cupola on this structure resembles that of the Provincial Legislature; the only difference being in roof style. The cupola on Charlotte Street School features a bellcast roof, while that of the Provincial Legislature is topped by a dome. The similarity in cupola style can be credited to the designer, J. C. Dumaresq. Two years after the completion of the Provincial Legislature, Dumaresq formed a partnership with H. H. Mott and together they designed the Charlotte Street School.
A new school became necessary when in 1883 the Fredericton School Board could no longer occupy the classroom space it rented at the Park Barracks. Over-crowding in the other city schools and a lack of available buildings for school purposes contributed to the decision to build a new structure. Joshua Limerick, prolific local builder, won the contract in 1884 to erect this school building. The finished building contained six classrooms, three on each level, which housed Grades 1 to 8. Congested schools and over-crowded conditions, factors in building the original structure, were also responsible for the construction of the two-storey 1917 addition. The wartime expansion of Charlotte Street School was completed by Saint John builder, R. A. Corbett, upon the design of Saint John architect, G. Ernest Fairweather. This annex featured two new classrooms and an assembly hall.
Charlotte Street School is an educational landmark in the City of Fredericton. This school was the first to be adopted by the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.). Mrs. W.G. Clark, appointed to the Fredericton School Board in 1896, was the first female school trustee in Canada. Mrs. Clark served in that capacity for 49 years and never once missed closing exercises at Charlotte Street School. Sloyd School training, or manual training, was offered to male and female students at Charlotte Street School from 1903 until 1948.
Charlotte Street School is the oldest school building still standing in the City of Fredericton. Although it is no longer used as a public school, this building has housed educational endeavours for more than a century. After the school’s closure, this building served as a teacher’s resource centre and as a community college.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of Charlotte Street School associated with the Italianate style of architecture include:
- its location on a lot in the downtown plat;
- manicured lawn and trees;
- brick two-and-a-half storey main structure and two-storey rear addition;
- projecting frontispiece with triangular pediment;
- projecting sections on either side of projecting frontispiece topped by triangular pediments;
- stone arch over main entrance;
- haut-relief date “1884” above main entrance;
- pairs of round-headed windows bracketed by narrow rectangular windows;
- low-pitched roof of main structure;
- cupola with bellcast roof.
From Historic Places Canada