The Worker’s Cottage: Cabbagetown

The Working Man’s Cottage, also known as the Worker’s Cottage, was the most common style for homes in Canada during late 1800s.  These structures were made simple, efficient, and economical, built to reduce the unsanitary conditions that the working class had been subjected to during the industrial revolution.  Most often, the Working Man’s Cottage would be a one story house, divided into many rooms, under one steeply peaked roof.

In Ontario, the Working Man’s Cottage, or just the Worker’s Cottage, closely resembled the Gothic through the use of finials, shutters, bay windows, and etched glass transoms.  With this said, many of the homes in Cabbagetown are related to Second Empire and Gregorian styles.