People visiting or living in Brampton Ontario with an interest in cultural, architectural, or local history, or even those just looking for something to do for an afternoon, might be interested in visiting Bovaird House, the city’s only historical residence. Built around 1952, Bovaird house has seen extensive renovations in the last couple of years that allow it to accurately reflect the way it would originally have appeared.

The architectural style

The Bovaird house is indicative of the architectural style preferred by the wealthy and powerful in the middle of the 19th century, that is to say it is distinctly Georgian in nature. Indeed, it encompasses all of the general characteristics associated with this style, including the hipped roof, a chimney on both sides, and large windows.

The Bovaird house was originally a farmhouse, as hard as that might be to believe from its surroundings today. Still, the architecture and the rooms inside the house still strongly reflect this heritage. It is also constructed of red brick, which was taken out of a nearby quarry.

The floor plan

The outlay of the Bovaird house is typical of the19th century farmhouse. The basic floor plan includes a main floor and a second floor, with a cellar that was used for storage.

The second floor includes four bedrooms and also includes the area in which the labourers who would have worked on the farm would stay during the busy seasons. These quarters cannot be accessed through the main staircases, and must be entered through a stairwell running up from the kitchen.

The kitchen itself is located on the main floor, along with the parlour, the carriage room, two smaller rooms which may have served as bedrooms in periods of high occupancy, the dining room and the main entryway. In total there are five fireplaces located in the house, including those in the parlour and the dining room. The kitchen includes an authentic Dutch oven.

The house has been redecorated and refitted throughout in order to give visitors an idea of what life would have looked like domestically for an upper class Canadian family in the 19th century. Wood planking is used on the floors, and each room contains period furniture as well as several artifacts located throughout the house.

A visit to the city’s only historic residence is well worth it if you are in Brampton. Everything about the historic Bovaird house has been designed to take you into the Canadian lifestyle of over a hundred and fifty years ago.