Queen Anne

Although the Queen Anne style originated in England in the 1800s, it was named for Queen Anne, who ruled in the early 1700s. In the 1860s a revival movement of the Queen Anne style began in England and soon moved across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, where the first Queen Anne home was built in 1874. The Queen Anne style in Edmonton was likely introduced in the 1890s by newcomers from eastern Canada, where it was already well established in residential design. However, unlike Ontario, Edmonton's surviving Queen Anne homes are quite modest. While the basic form, including the roofline, verandahs, and turrets remain, few local Queen Anne homes have the ornate detailing seen elsewhere. The Queen Anne style was relatively uncommon in Edmonton, though there are a few remaining examples from the early 1900s.

Characteristics

• Usually asymmetrical
• Pyramidal or gable roofs, usually with cross gables
• Common building materials included: red brick, stone or wood trim, wood clapboard or shingles
• Wrap-around verandahs
• Ornate spindlework and gingerbread trim
• Turrets or towers
• Dormers
• Decorative elements used to avoid the appearance of smooth walls
• Some have classical columns, half-timbering, or patterned brickwork