l The Charlottetown ofRabert and William Harris

Introduction

Quite often lam asked to give a talk on William Harris, or take a group on a walk about Charlottetown to see the buildings he designed. This little book is the outcome of these invitations. It is brief enough to be read in an hour, and small enough to fit in your pocket as you explore the old town.

You will notice that the subject of this book is the Charlottetown not only of architect William Harris, but also of his brother, portrait painter and landscape artist Robert Harris. Robert's Charlottetown is not as obvious as William's, but it is there nevertheless, not only in the paintings in All Souls' Chapel and in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum Permanent Collection, but also in Province House and Fanning Bank, the Lieutenant Governor's mansion. There are always Robert Harris paintings from the Permanent Collection in these government buildings; and there are others in private collections in Charlottetown and elsewhere in Prince Edward Island.

Also part of Robert and William Harris's Charlottetown are the houses in which they lived as children, growing up in an immigrant family in the 18505 and 18605. Their parents, W. Critchlow and Sarah Stretch Harris, lived in no fewer than 14 different houses following their arrival in Charlottetown from Liverpool on the barque Isabel on October 10, 1856. Several of these houses are still standing, and you will find pictures ofthem in an appendix

If you would like to know more about Robert and William Harris, and their family, there are a number of books available - although several are out of print and can be found only in libraries and second- hand book shops. I list them in a bibliography at the back.

Robert C. Tuck, Charlottetown, July 1, 1997