Notice of Intent to Designate under Heritage Act

TOWN OF SOUTH BRUCE PENINSULA

IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT

R.S.O. 1990 CHAPTER 0.18 AND THE NORTH, EAST AND WEST WALLS OF THE
ORIGINAL WIARTON HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING LOCATED AT 239 WILLIAM
STREET, FORMER TOWN OF WIARTON, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO.

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE

Take notice that the Town of South Bruce Peninsula intends to designate the exposed portions,
including all facades, entranceways and windows of the north, east and west walls of the original
Wiarton High School building at 239 William Street under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Reasons for Designation:

The original portion of the Wiarton & District High School is a unique and outstanding example
of stone-built public architecture of mid-Victorian Ontario. The building was designed in a
modified "Georgian" style with some elements of both Italianate and Romanesque revival
inspiration. There are a number of architecturally significant aspects to the building facades.

A description of the Heritage attributes are available for viewing from the Clerk's office or under
the Notice section of the Town's website at www.southbrucepeninsula.com.

Notice of any objection to the proposed designation may be served on the Town Clerk, c/o 315
George Street, P.O. Box 310, Wiarton, Ontario N0H 2T0, within thirty days of the 23rd of
November, 2005. The notice must set out the reason(s) for the objection, and all relevant facts.

Dated at the Town of South Bruce Peninsula this 23rd day of November,2005.

William E. Johnston
Clerk
Town of South Bruce Peninsula
P.O. Box 310, 315 George Street
Wiarton, ON N0H 2T0
SCHEDULE `B'
To
By-law No.

Architectural Description

The Wiarton & District High School is a unique and outstanding example of stone-built public
architecture of mid-Victorian Ontario. The building was designed in a modified "Georgian"
style with some elements of both Italianate and Romanesque revival inspiration.

There are a number of architecturally significant aspects to the building facades. The
proportions, for example, are strictly based on the Georgian canon (after Palladio) and the
masonry is ashlar-cut and rigidly coursed. The walls are bordered by rusticated quoins of
contrasting colour (a Georgian standard) which tie into a horizontal band subdividing the fa�ade.
The windows are symmetrically placed about the centre axis of the building as dictated by the
Georgian canon. They have head trim in the form of a pediment segmental arch, a very elegant
interpretation of Georgian precedents.

The main entry block projects slightly beyond the fa�ade line, which gives this element
prominence in the overall building composition. It is this element which contains the most
refined architectural expression in the main fa�ade and indeed, the remainder of the building.

The main block is surmounted by a superbly detailed Georgian-inspired polygonal cupola. The
pediment of the block is projected, resulting on Italianate-style double brackets. The Palladian"
window, above the main entry, is proportioned in the Golden Section, a highly refined and
sophisticated compositional framework. The main entry is accessed through an arch with inward
stepped intrados, a form which recollects Romanesque precedents. The masonry of the voussoirs
of the arch is particularly notable for the quality of the stone-cutting. Of great interest is the
unique treatment of the lower corners of the projected main block. These are constructed in the
form of engaged collonettes, resting on an capped by conical elements. This treatment prefigures
later Romanesque Revival styles of post-1885 Ontario and, as such, underlines the fundamental
importance of the fa�ade design for the history of architecture and for the ongoing appreciation
of the cultural heritage of Ontario.

Building Evolution

The evolution from a one room wooden elementary school house on the main street of Wiarton
in 1869, to a two room stone school in the present location at 239 William Street in 1877;
expansion and refitting in 1891 and 1930 to produce the present heritage school, and the
culmination of to-day's high school complex housing over 400 students, tells the story of the
growth of a vital pioneer community.