Access not granted, notes and photographs from the street Sept (AB) Current Use

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1 1. Description of Property 49: Lakeshore Road East, Grenvilla Lodge Municipal Address Lakeshore Road East ame (if applicable) Grenvilla Lodge. (Incorrectly spelled in the Heritage Register as Grenvella Lodge.) Legal Description PT LT 4, CO 4 TRAF, SDS AS I EXCEPT THE EASEMET THEREI SAVE & EXCEPT PTS 1 & 2 O 20R S/T S/T & T/W ; 1 FT RESERVE, PL 557; OAKVILLE Location of Property Located on the south side of Lakeshore Road East between the two arms of U-shaped Colonial Crescent. Ownership Private Access Access not granted, notes and photographs from the street Sept (AB) Current Use Residential Existing Designation Listed on the Register of Properties of Cultural Heritage Value of Interest (OT Designated). Description: Grenvella [sp] Lodge - this property has potential cultural heritage value for its c.1900 cottage along Lakeshore Road, once the residence of W.H. Brouse. General Description Grenvilla Lodge is a fragment of a former lakefront estate established by W.H. Brouse in c.1910 on the Brantwood Survey. It comprises two separate legal parcels: 1248 Lakeshore Road East and 1250 Lakeshore Road East. An L-shaped, semi-detached house (built c.1910) straddles the property line between the two parcels. The property includes stone gateposts and a low wall at the entrance and a number of mature trees along the road. Priority Level /A o Further Action Required Figure 1: Lakeshore Road East, from near the intersection of Lakeshore Road East and Colonial Crescent (AB, 2015) 49-1

2 Colonial Cres. Stone Gates Residence Fence Colonial Cres. Dam Formal Garden Stone Piers Cottage Break Wall House Lake Ontario Colonial Cres. Lakeshore Rd. E. Lakeshore Rd. E. Stone Gates Residence Corporation of the Town of Oakville 1225 Trafalgar Rd Oakville, O L6H 0H3 Fence Grenvella Lodge Cultural Heritage Landscape Inventory Map LEGED Assessment Boundary Building CHL Study Area Heritage District Heritage Trail Parkland Colonial Cres. Park Trail Road Site Structures Vegetation Watercourse Drawing not to scale

3 2. Key Recommendations Priority = /A o further action is recommended for the following reasons: o known vulnerabilities; and The property is not a strong cultural heritage landscape candidate. Although no further action is recommended with respect to the property as a cultural heritage landscape, the house itself may merit a full heritage evaluation to determine whether it retains sufficient criteria to meet the criteria in O. Reg. 9/06 for cultural heritage value or interest. 3. Documentation and Inventory of Built Form List of Built Features: An L-shaped house built c.1910, with multiple gabled roof and stucco exterior. It has been divided into two, dwelling units: one at 1248 Lakeshore Road East and fronting on that road; and one at 1250 Lake Shore Road East, accessed from Colonial Crescent). Additions have been constructed at the rear (south) and side (west) of the house and the roofline may have been altered; A one-store, double garage with gabled hip roof and stucco exterior. The garage appeared in a 2009 photo taken by the city, but aerial photos suggest that it may since have been removed; A set of stone steps at the front porch; Square stone piers and a low stone wall with remnants of hardware at the Lakeshore Road East entrances; and A peastone gravel laneway and parking surfaces off Colonial Crescent and Lakeshore Road East. 4. Documentation and Inventory of atural Form List of atural Features: A mixed collection of planted and naturalized trees along Lakeshore Road East (Walnut, Black Locust, Blue Spruce, Mulberry, Scots Pine); Spruce along Colonial Crescent; An old, lumpy/unkempt fruit tree on the front lawn; and Black Locust in the western side yard. Historic photographs show a hedge along Lakeshore Road. This is no longer extant. 5. Design (Typology) X all that apply X Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape Designed Landscape Organically Evolved Landscape Relict Landscape (Evolved Landscape) Continuing Landscape (Evolved Landscape) Description clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man. results from an initial social, economic, administrative, and/or religious imperative and has developed in its present form in response to its natural environment in which an evolutionary process came to an end at some time in the past. retains an active social role in contemporary society closely associated with the traditional way of 49-3

4 X all that apply Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape Associative Cultural Landscape Description life, and which the evolutionary process is still in progress. justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent. 6. Historical and Thematic Associations The property at Lakeshore Road East was built between 1910 and 1912 as the suburban home of W.H. Brouse. Brouse was likely a wealthy Toronto businessman, possibly a broker. 1 Grenvilla Lodge is provided as an example of a lakeshore home in Griffin s 1912 Oakville: past and present. A photo of the house and stone gates appears in a 1913 promotional brochure for Brantwood Survey published by the Cumberland Land Company. amed in honour of Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, Brantwood was touted as: a modern suburban residential district second to none in Ontario. Stately maples, oaks and elms abound, and groves of majestic pines give an air of dignity and grandeur and dignity to the landscape which is charming beyond description, while here and there may be seen broad, natural expanses of velvety turf, seeming to need but the addition of a rambling bungalow, or a stately villa, to complete the harmony, and give a touch of life to the picturesque scene. 2 The caption in the Cumberland brochure indicates that the house was built for by W.H. Brouse. The text describes Grenvilla Lodge as a spacious estate, one of at least ten already in place in Brantwood. Many of these are bungalows, constructed of brick and stucco, and the diversity of design and artistic talent displayed in their architecture, combined with the well-kept lawns and pleasing effects in shrubbery, will prove an inspiration to the newcomer. The short distance to the Toronto s business district (36 minutes by train, with the train schedules provided in the brochure), healthy air, convenient location, social life, opportunity to garden and the natural beauty of the surroundings, were all promoted as advantages to building a house in Brantwood. 7. Contextual Associations The house is located in a residential subdivision. It does not currently have water frontage. 1 Archives of Ontario. Registrations of Births and Stillbirths MS 929; Reel Cumberland Land Company, Brantwood: Beautifully Located, Healthful Surroundings, Inviting Prospects, Pleasing Vistas with City Conveniences (Oakville: Cumberland Land Company, 1913). 49-4

5 8. Evaluation (O. Reg 9/06) O.Reg.9/06 Criteria 1. The property has design value or physical value because it, i. is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material, or construction method, ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement. 2. The property has historical value or associative value because it, i. has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community, ii. yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community. 3. The property has contextual value because it, Criteria Potentially Met (Y/) Y Potential Justification The property is an example of the large country houses built in the early-20 th century along Oakville s waterfront for those seeking to escape the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. It may also be an example of an early-20 th century style such as Arts-and-Crafts. However, alterations to the property including the subdivision and sale of lots between the house and the water, and the subdivision of the house into two units, suggest that it has lost integrity and no longer functions as a representative example. ot shown. ot shown. This property is associated with the development of the Brantwood area of Oakville. As one of the earliest estates in the area, it was used to promote sales of other properties. ot assessed. Architect/builder unknown. 49-5

6 O.Reg.9/06 Criteria Criteria Potentially Potential Justification Met (Y/) i. is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the ot known. character of an area, ii. is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its ot known. surroundings, or iii. is a landmark. The property is not a landmark. 9. Photographic Documentation Figure 3: Pre-1912 photograph of Grenvilla Lodge showing hedge and stone gates. (From Griffin, 1912.Provided by Town of Oakville.) 49-6

7 Figure 4: Photograph of Grenvilla Lodge facing Lakeshore Road East, date unknown. (Cumberland Land Company, Brantwood. Provided by Town of Oakville.) Figure 5: Stone wall and gate posts along Lakeshore Road East (AB, 2015) 49-7

8 Figure 6: Garage in March 2010 (Town of Oakville) 10. Analysis & Recommendations Potential Heritage Value: The property at Lakeshore Road is associated with the early 20 th -century development of the Brantwood area of Oakville. It is an example of the large country houses built in the early 20 th century along or near to Oakville s waterfront for those seeking to escape the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. However, the integrity of the property and its ability to serve as a representative example have been severely compromised by its subdivision into smaller building lots, and the ensuing residential development along Colonial Crescent, which has meant the loss of water frontage and of any connection with the lakefront. The hedge that ran along the roadside edge of the property has been removed and the stone entrance gates have been altered by the addition of the low stone wall. The house has been subdivided into two units, its roofline has been altered and additions have been built on the rear and side. The mixture of trees at the front of the property appear to have been planted or naturalized more recently and do not appear to be connected with the construction of the house in c Actions: In its current condition, the property no longer functions as a cultural heritage landscape. However, a full heritage evaluation might confirm whether the house itself retains any heritage value. o further action is recommended for the following reasons: o known vulnerabilities; and The property is not a strong cultural heritage landscape candidate. 49-8

9 11. Sources Archives of Ontario. Registrations of Births and Stillbirths MS 929; Reel 141. Cumberland Land Company, Brantwood: Beautifully Located, Healthful Surroundings, Inviting Prospects, Pleasing Vistas with City Conveniences (Oakville: Cumberland Land Company, 1913). Griffin, George A., Oakville: past and present, (Toronto: Griffin & Griffin, 1912). 49-9