Description du lieu patrimonial

The John Bourke House is a large, two-storey Second Empire home with a mansard roof combining the traditional Island ell style and Gothic Revival elements including decorative window hoods. The extremely well-maintained home with its distinctive ochre colour is a landmark in the rural community of Millview, Prince Edward Island.

Valeur patrimoniale

The John Bourke Senior House is valued as an example of a well-preserved Second Empire architectural style home, and for its associations with John Bourque, Senior. The house was completed in approximately 1870. The base of the house consists of a partial 1868 structure re-located to its current location in Millview from Seal River by John Bourke Senior (1796-1882) replacing an earlier home which reportedly was burned down as revenge for Bourke's refusal to consider the welfare of his tenants. As a land owner and agent, Bourke was well-known for his opposition of the Tenant League Movement.

John Bourke Senior (1796-1882) came to Prince Edward Island from County Limerick, Ireland in 1819 and was deeply involved in the life of the community and had many political connections. He purchased mills and land on the Seal River in 1822 and worked as a clerk for shipbuilder James L. Hayden of Vernon River. He married Hayden's daughter, Isabella and went on to become a significant shipbuilder in his own right. He was also owner-operator of saw, carding and grist mills, a land agent, land proprietor, eventually amassing a great deal of property including half of Lot 37. In addition, he held several government appointments including High Sheriff of Queens County, Coroner, Commissioner of Small Debts, Justice of the Peace, and Commissioner of Highways in Lots 48, 49, 50 and 35, among others.

The mansard style house was favoured by the Bourke family. Son John Bourke Jr had a similar one in Mount Stewart as did his brother William Crilly Bourke at 20 Water Street in Charlottetown, built by his father in 1871, which is still standing today.

In about 1927 the John Bourke Senior house and property was purchased by Albert MacLeod and wife Annie MacEachern. In the 1930s, a large kitchen wing was removed. The property later passed to Albert MacLeod Jr. and wife Mary who later re-located to the US. Iron cresting from the roofline was removed in the 1970s. The house was later purchased by the Drakes and in 1986, the current owners acquired the property.

Many original architectural features have been maintained or sympathetically restored by the owners in respect to the building's history. In approximately 1990 patio doors were added and in 2003 interlocking metal roof shingles were installed. A 2005 addition at the rear of the house to accommodate a rug hooking shop blends well with the architectural style and does not detract from the home's excellent historic architecture.

The John Bourke Senior House continues to be an impressive and important landmark in the landscape of the rural community of Millview, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Places files, Dept. of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/J7

Éléments caractéristiques

The heritage value of the John Bourke House in Millview is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the house
- the pitch and slope of the mansard roof
- the wood clapboard cladding
- the size and placement of the multi-paned windows
- the double bay windows
- the eave double bracketing
- the dormer window on the ell section
- the double door main entrance, with porch roof and eave brackets
- the decorative window hood coverings on the upper storey, with decorative finials at the peaks
- The covered porch with gingerbread trim
- the corner boards

Further contributing heritage character-defining elements:

- the distinctive ochre with dark green and cream trim paint colour-scheme
- the location of the house well set back from the road