ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

MONUMENTS TO THE MOTHERLAND The Lost Gothic Houses of John George Howard (1803-1890)1

JESSICA MACE, Ph.D., is a SSHRC (Social > JESSICA MACE Sciences and Humanities Research Council) postdoctoral fellow in affiliation with the Research Chair in Urban Heritage at the Université du Québec à Montréal. earing the middle of the nineteenth Ncentury, the use of the Gothic Revival style for houses had been a mainstay of architecture in England for almost a hundred years. On the outskirts of the Empire, however, the situation was rather different. In the English colony of Upper Canada (present-day Southern as it was named from 1791-1841), the only known examples of early Gothic houses are few and appear to have existed in the context of present-day beginning in the 1830s. None of these homes survives, but all seem to have been designed by one of the province’s first and most prolific architects, John George Howard [1803-1890] (fig. 1). Although Howard designed a variety of Gothic houses, including small labourers’ cot- tages,2 this paper will provide an exam- ination of his designs for the houses of the elite. These homes, in particular, sig- nal an interest in Gothic for associations of prestige, lineage, and the assertion of social standing. Through an examina- tion of a heretofore unexplored aspect of Howard’s multi-faceted career (including new attributions), this article will reveal Howard’s ability to abreast of con- temporary architectural developments in England and to produce fashionable homes with desirable associations.

EARLY TORONTO HOUSES

Toronto was settled as an English garri- son town in 1793 and was known as York until its incorporation as a city in 1834. As Upper Canada’s capital beginning in 1796 and as the province’s first-ever city,3 it is no great wonder that many of the most experimental examples of architecture FIG. 1. JOHN GEORGE HOWARD (1803-1890), WATERCOLOUR BY GEORGE D’ALMAINE, 1835. | COURTESY OF THE .

JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 > 23-33 23 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 2. THE GRANGE, TORONTO. | JESSICA MACE, 2011. FIG. 3. STRAWBERRY HILL, TWICKENHAM, MIDDLESEX. | JESSICA MACE, 2012.

would eventually spring up there. The as though “new” styles, such as Gothic, At the time of Howard’s training in population and, concomitantly, the despite being in fashion in England for England, a variety of styles were popular, town’s built environment, continued to decades, were not yet of interest. many of which incorporated the aesthetic grow steadily: from a mere four hundred theory of the picturesque. The so-called people in 1800,4 by “1816 the population JOHN GEORGE HOWARD’S EARLY Castle Gothic style, in particular, gained was 720 [and] there were 94 one-storey CAREER AND INFLUENCES popularity in the mid-eighteenth cen- and 23 two-storey houses.”5 By 1833, a tury with houses like Horace Walpole’s reporter from Montreal remarked: “this The English-born architect John George infamous Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, year four hundred [buildings] have been Howard arrived at York in September of Middlesex (1748-1790) (fig. 3), which grad- built, are building or contracted for 1832 and quickly began to practice archi- ually opened the door to all varieties of within town and suburbs.”6 Many of these tecture. It seems that he was the first, and the Gothic style. Even though Gothic had would indeed have been houses, as by the certainly the most prolific architect in the been revived for houses since the middle time of York’s incorporation the following province to take full advantage of the mar- of the eighteenth century, with varying year, “the population was 9,252 and there ket for houses and to employ a range of degrees of success, it was with were 529 one-storey and 485 two-storey fashionable styles from England. He was [1752-1835] that it was thoroughly incor- houses.”7 It is clear that the number of certainly well positioned to do so as he porated into the principles of the pictur- houses in town was multiplying at a rapid was trained as an architect and surveyor esque. His status as champion of the style rate, but the style for houses appears to in London, England, beginning in 1820, “in was firmly established when he partnered have remained rather stagnant, continu- the office of an uncle,” who is otherwise with the picturesque landscape architect ing to make use of simply planned houses unidentified, and then entered an appren- Humphry Repton [1752-1818] from 1795 with a few classical details, such as the ticeship with architect John Grayson of to 1800, as the two men merged pic- Grange of 1817 (fig. 2). Despite the fact London. Following his early training, turesque landscapes and architecture that houses such as these had been com- Howard worked briefly on the rebuilding into one coherent vision. After the dis- monplace in Britain since the early eight- of Leeds Castle, , and then stayed solution of the partnership, Nash carried eenth century and were likewise the most in the area to work for an architectural on independently exploiting the Gothic popular manifestation for houses in the firm in Maidstone, “where he remained genre for country houses with great suc- United States, it seems as though many for some time.” This could not have been cess through to the second decade of the citizens of Upper Canada were content to for long, however, as the rebuilding of the nineteenth century, expanding beyond employ this traditional mode rather than castle began in 1822 and Howard was back Castle Gothic, for instance with his to branch out into something more cur- working in London in 1824 in the office of Tudor-inspired Longner Hall, Shropshire, rent and fashionable. Indeed, it appears William Ford and Samuel Paterson. 8 of 1805-1808 (fig. 4), and with his Rustic

24 JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 4. LONGNER HALL, SHROPSHIRE. | FRANCIS LEACH, 1891, THE COUNTY SEATS OF SHROPSHIRE; A SERIES FIG. 5. HOLLAND HOUSE, TORONTO, 1904. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. OF DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES, WITH HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN NOTES, OF THE PRINCIPAL FAMILY MANSIONS, SHREWSBURY, EDDOWES’S SHREWSBURY JOURNAL OFFICE, P. 195.

Gothic worker’s village and cottages at stylistic standstill in the province—was cornice (the crenellation),12 the groins,13 Blaise Hamlet, near Bristol, of 1810-1811. Holland House (fig. 5). Little is known and the chimney pots.14 Although Nash was primarily invested in about this house because it was demol- urban projects in London in the 1820s ished in 1904 and plans do not exist. The These Gothic features on the house come (including some semi-detached Gothic only surviving evidence consists of a few across as rather inventive, particularly houses at Park Village West and Park late nineteenth-century photographs as given the tendency toward reserved, clas- Village East), it is inconceivable that the well as several mentions of the house in sicizing architecture in the colony at the young John G. Howard, while still in train- Howard’s journal. There is some discrep- time. The chimney pots in particular were ing in London, would not have known of ancy with regard to the details surround- fanciful in creation, consisting of bul- the famous architect’s career achieve- ing the construction of this house as some bous stepped corbels, covered with shin- ments, particularly as they dotted the city sources claim that it was begun in 183110 gles and tiny brackets (fig. 8). This is an and all reaches of the British countryside. and was Gothicized in 1833 by Howard, example of the type of imaginative and while others give him full credit and a firm peculiar invention that was only possible, Part of the appeal of the style was due to date of 1832.11 Some believe that Holland or at least acceptable, in Gothic architec- the idea that “Gothic houses and castles House was built as a classically planned ture. Beyond invention, a variety of inter- proclaimed the primacy of landed prop- house the year before Howard’s arrival, pretations of pre-existing Gothic motifs erty in an age of rapid and transformative although there is no concrete evidence to were also used, regardless of historical economic change.”9 This was also true of support the claim for the appearance of period or original usage. Crenellation, the situation in York where these types of the original house. It is likely that these for example, was used freely, despite the concerns were particularly pertinent for speculations are based on the straight- small stature of the house as compared to wealthy citizens; a house that announced forward composition of the street façade actual medieval castles, or even to con- deep ancestral ties to England would have (fig. 6) and on the fact that the pre-exist- temporary English country houses for that been most appealing in Upper Canada— ing popular house type in York took the matter. Incidentally, at Holland House, just as it was in England—in order to pre- form of a symmetrically planned con- likely in deference to the climate, Howard serve and project a certain social status. struction with classical details, much like used a shorthand version of crenellation The Grange of 1817 or Campbell House for the roofline of the main body of the HOLLAND HOUSE of 1822 (fig. 7). Whatever the nature of house; the imitation crenellation is com- his involvement, it is clear that Howard posed of a solid frieze with panels carved One such model as built at York that was—at the very least—responsible for out at regular intervals. In effect, this projected this very image—and per- the Gothic character of the house as he provided the appearance of crenellation haps the first to perceptibly break the specifically mentions in his journal the (a typically thin and vulnerable feature

JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 25 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 6. HOLLAND HOUSE, TORONTO, C. 1890. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. FIG. 7. CAMPBELL HOUSE, TORONTO, PEN AND INK DRAWING AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH, WILLIAM JAMES THOMSON, 1888. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY.

when built of wood) while, in reality, the In order to emphasize the importance a little Gothic castle at Strawberry Hill.”17 detail was massive and sturdy. There is of associations and a certain continuity The house is, indeed, indebted to the no direct historical authority for any such of English heritage in the New World, it Gothic Revival tradition of Strawberry Hill details, but with its blend of medieval- should also be noted that the architect in terms of its form and ornamentation, inspired characteristics, Holland House Howard’s original surname was Corby, although it likely owes its appearance to would have been perceived as inherently and that he changed it upon arriving in rather more direct English precedents; English, particularly as contrasted with Canada, likely to bolster his more desir- perhaps most probable are the rebuilding the typical house at York. able ancestral ties.16 If it was important of Leeds Castle by William Baskett [1782- for a person to secure his rank in the 1842] and the country houses of John The original owner, Henry John Boulton colonies, it was just as important for his Nash, such as East Castle of 1798 [1790-1870], was born in England and he home to partake in a similar ideology. As to 1810 (figs. 9-10). Howard was certainly immigrated to Canada with his family such, naming and the reification of links intimately familiar with Leeds because he around 1800, returning to England only to the Old World—in any way possible— had worked on it and lived nearby for a briefly to study law. Before the construc- were of the utmost importance. This is good period of time. He is also known tion of his house, he had risen to prom- probably one of the reasons that patrons to have visited the (at least inence in his legal career in Canada, in Upper Canada would have chosen to once) before emigrating from England becoming Solicitor General and then build a house in the Gothic style. The con- and so may have seen Castle, Attorney General in 1829. Boulton car- nection to England and the assertion of or residences like it. ried on his family’s longstanding trad- a respectable lineage were particularly ition of prestige in the legal profession pertinent for wealthy citizens in British Aside from first-hand knowledge of as, previously, his father had held all of North America, given that the social order direct models, both homes were - the same titles in Upper Canada and as his was less straightforward than in England lished—and Gothic in general was pro- grandfather was once Master of the Rolls and that hierarchies were still in the midst moted—in contemporary publications. in England.15 A man with such status and of being assessed and established in this Howard is known to have kept a large family lineage, not only in Canada but in strange new land. library and to have kept up with over- England as well, surely merited a home to seas publications in particular. In 1881, for reflect his importance. It is fitting then, in In short, the appearance of Holland instance, he donated some of his collec- an era that prized such high-profile asso- House was reminiscent of a tiny castle, tion to the Toronto Library. At that date, ciations, that Boulton would have wished recalling Horace Walpole’s now-famous he bequeathed sixty-one volumes of The to make a bold architectural statement proclamation of 1750 in a letter to his Illustrated London News, thirty-four vol- and to have his home built to impress. friend, Horace Mann: “I am going to build umes of The Builder, two of Picturesque

26 JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 8. HOLLAND HOUSE, CHIMNEY DETAIL, PHOTOGRAPH C. 1885. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO FIG. 9. LEEDS CASTLE, KENT. | THE REPOSITORY OF ARTS, LITERATURE, FASHIONS, MANUFACTURES, &C., VOL. XII, NO. LXIX, PUBLIC LIBRARY. SEPTEMBER 1, 1828, P. 125.

America, two of The Antiquities of evocation of the style in the eye of the difficult to acquire and was out of reach , two of The History of Wales, beholder in order to establish concrete for the average citizen; in the case of the and so on.18 Not only did Howard own an visual ties to ancient England. Laurent Quetton de St. George House, for extensive collection of English magazines instance, the bricks were imported across and periodicals, but there is evidence that ON MATERIALS Lake Ontario from Oswego, New York.21 he read them voraciously: a letter from Elsewhere in Upper Canada, examples Howard stating as much was published in Until Holland House, it appears that this in brick and stone do not appear until the January 29, 1870, issue of The Builder. associative desire had not yet manifested after the close of the (in In this letter, he announced: “I have been itself stylistically in Upper Canada. In large 1815) and into the early 1820s, at which a constant reader of the Builder for many part, it seems that this was because the time many towns began to rebuild and years, the number of which have so use of certain building materials, up until to become thoroughly settled. The use of accumulated as to form almost a library then, had been sufficient to announce a brick, therefore, would have been highly of themselves. I am an old worn-out archi- certain level of wealth. In terms of the prestigious, displaying to the public that tect, and have retired to a snug retreat on hierarchy of materials, stone was the most the patron had the means to procure this the north shore of Lake Ontario, and look luxurious material available, followed by fairly rare material. as regularly for my Builder every week as brick, both of which were rather costly my Sunday’s dinner.”19 This dedication to and difficult to procure in Upper Canada While brick was indeed employed at keeping up with architectural news and in the early decades of the nineteenth Holland House, it was covered in stucco. fashions surely began at a young age, as century. The first brick house in York, Not only was the brick hidden, but the is alluded in his letter and as is clear from the Laurent Quetton de St. George House stucco was also scored in imitation of his of-the-moment castellated and pictur- (fig. 11), was not built until 1809 and masonry, creating the appearance of esque-inspired design for Holland House. the first stone house, in 1820 (at Church something even more sturdy and expen- and Lombard, for James Hunter).20 In sive. Much like its stylistic forbears, going With its emphasis on crenellation and on these instances, the exterior walls were back to Nash’s country houses and even the use of a turret placed for picturesque left unadorned and unpainted so as to as far back as Walpole’s Strawberry Hill, effect, it is obvious that the design of flaunt the material itself. Stone houses, at there was no consideration given at Holland House owes its appearance to the the time, were primarily limited to areas Holland House for truthful exposure of contemporary English brand of Gothic. with an abundance of natural stone in materials. What mattered in this case was The value of these types of houses was the immediate vicinity, such as the east- that it created a unique impression in the not in the correctness of detail nor in the ern part of the province; otherwise, brick cityscape and that it was different from proper application of motifs, but in the was more common. Even so, brick was the standard classical brick house. That

JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 27 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 11. LAURENT QUETTON DE ST. GEORGE HOUSE, YORK, C. 1885. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY.

FIG. 10. EAST , ISLE OF WIGHT. | THE REPOSITORY OF ARTS, LITERATURE, FASHIONS, MANUFACTURES, &C., THE THIRD SERIES, VOL. VII, MAY 1, 1826, NO. XLI, P. 249.

FIG. 12. “COTTAGE FOR JOSEPH RIDOUT,” DRAWING 45, JOHN GEORGE HOWARD PAPERS, BALDWIN COLLECTION. | FIG. 13. “HOUSE FOR CLERGYMAN, PORT HOPE,” DRAWING 1.5, COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. JOHN GEORGE HOWARD PAPERS, BALDWIN COLLECTION. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Boulton had the means to build in brick House, then, represents an early Canadian although if it was originally a classically and to cover it up so that it masqueraded experimentation in Gothic for the pur- planned house of the prevailing York as stone, shows that he aspired beyond pose of making a social statement. mode, it would be fairly straightforward the statements of wealth provided by a to deduce. Indeed, its symmetrical and brick house. With the greater availabil- HOWARD’S INNOVATIVE PLANNING regular appearance from the exterior, ity of brick at that time, new avenues even with the entrance placed to one could be explored through the building In addition to ornamental details and styl- side of the façade, seems to indicate a of a house and so the Gothic style was istic motifs, planning was a crucial element classical arrangement. If it was Howard’s employed at Holland House for reasons in the building of Gothic houses. The pre- design, however, it complicates the issue of prestige, lineage, and power. Holland cise plan of Holland House is not known, as his extant architectural drawings reveal

28 JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 14. UNLABELLED, UNDATED, DRAWING 111, JOHN GEORGE HOWARD PAPERS, BALDWIN FIG. 15. “ADDITIONS FOR CHARLES C. SMALL,” DRAWING 52, JOHN GEORGE HOWARD PAPERS, COLLECTION. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. BALDWIN COLLECTION. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY.

that he was a rather innovative planner This unorthodox and somewhat inconven- there is no more information available who fully embraced the picturesque and ient plan is similar to an unlabelled, on this commission (other than a men- Gothic love of irregularity. His house and undated plan in which the house appears tion in Howard’s 1881 memoir, Incidents cottage creations of all styles—but par- to have been packaged within a fairly in the Life of John G. Howard, Esq., for ticularly his Gothic designs—display a ten- standard rectangular plan with a porch, the year 1836), the house closely matches dency toward off-centre or rear entrances, but in which the staircase is found, not in Berkeley House, which was documented axial corridors, and irregular room shapes front of the main entrance as would be in John Ross Robertson’s23 1894 volume even if contained within a standard rect- expected of house planning at the time, of the Landmarks of Toronto (fig. 16) as angular form. In a Gothic design of April but tucked away in the corner (fig. 14). So well as in several paintings and photo- 1836 for a cottage for Joseph Ridout of even though these Howard houses would graphs, now in possession of the Toronto Toronto, for instance, Howard made use have looked straightforwardly arranged Public Library (fig. 17). Demolished in of a roughly cross-shaped design with a from the outside, they were, in fact, 1925,24 the house once stood at the central block of chimneys around which slightly more complex. As such, they help corners of what are now King and all of the rooms radiated (fig. 12). The to demonstrate that despite the similarly Parliament streets. Robertson men- walls, moreover, met at the chimneys on straightforward exterior appearance at tions that there was an addition that the diagonal, thus drastically altering the Holland House, in reality, it is difficult to was made to the house by the original traditional expectations of right angles guess as to the interior arrangement with owner’s son, but to this point in time, it in an interior space. Another example any degree of certainty. seems that it has not been definitively of Howard’s offbeat planning is a house linked to an architect or to a precise designed for a clergyman in Port Hope BERKELEY HOUSE date. That Howard actually carried out in March of 1833 (fig. 13). The hall and this Gothicization of the house (slightly main entrance were hidden to the side Beyond these conceivably unexecuted modified from the extant plans) with of the house, the staircase was planned designs,22 it is possible to link Howard to a rambling extension, for a prominent in a highly unusual spiral arrangement, another Gothic design that was actually family with Upper Canadian lineage, and it would have been necessary to walk built. In Howard’s papers, there is a sheet is rather significant; Charles Small’s through the drawing room and the dining of architectural drawings for an addition father, Major John Small, arrived at York room in order to get to the study, which to an existing house. It is labelled for with Lieutenant-Governor John Graves would typically have been placed near the Charles Small with a date of 1837, and Simcoe. This signals that it was not just main entrance for the reception of guests. signed by Howard (fig. 15). Although the recently arrived elite who were

JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 29 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

FIG. 16. BERKELEY HOUSE, TORONTO. | JOHN ROSS ROBERTSON, 1894, LANDMARKS OF TORONTO, P. 95. FIG. 17. BERKELEY HOUSE, TORONTO, C. 1885. | COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY.

FIG. 18. CASTLEFIELD, TORONTO, PHOTOGRAPH ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES A. CROWELL, 1856. | FIG. 19. LEEDS CASTLE, KENT. | © SOPHIE TEMPLER, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC-BY-SA-3.0/GFDL, [HTTP://COMMONS. COURTESY OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. WIKIMEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FILE:LEEDS_CASTLE_(2004A).JPG], ACCESSED JUNE 2013.

interested in the style but that more CASTLEFIELD after his 1832 immigration and it is also settled citizens were also becoming executed in much the same castellated interested in the associations of wealth Beyond the aforementioned projects, the style as Holland House. Perhaps more and power that Gothic could provide. It only other known exception to the lack striking is the fact that Castlefield bears also shows that Howard was the go-to of Gothic in the province for upper-class a strong resemblance to the remodeled Goth in town and that he was able to homes at the time is Castlefield of about Leeds Castle in Kent, where Howard carry out different variants of the Gothic 1832-1835 (fig. 18). Like Holland House, worked briefly in the 1820s (fig. 19).25 style with aplomb. This same type of Old it has been demolished and no plans sur- Although the extent of his work at Leeds English style can be found in a few of his vive. There is no architect recorded for is unknown and he himself admitted that other undated and unlabelled drawings this house, however I contend that it was his tenure there was rather brief,26 he did for twin-gabled façade arrangements, designed by John G. Howard. The house continue to live near the castle while he although it is unclear as to whether or was constructed while he was most act- worked for a firm in Maidstone, Kent. As not these houses were actually built. ively working to build up his reputation such, it is likely that he would have been

30 JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

familiar with the completed building, par- ticularly as the exterior shell was finished by the summer of 1822.27

That Howard maintained a continued interest in Leeds Castle throughout his life is underscored by the fact that in his journal in 1867, he recorded that he drew the Castle from a map.28 He revisited the same drawing twelve years later, this time adding colour to it. It is possible that he also brought drawings of the castle with him upon emigration, as he brought numerous paintings and draw- ings to Upper Canada from his early life and architectural career in England. For instance, the contents of his personal gallery were listed in 1881 and show sev- eral of his own designs from the 1820s as FIG. 20. “DESIGN FOR A COURTHOUSE,” DRAWING 446, JOHN GEORGE HOWARD PAPERS, BALDWIN COLLECTION. | COURTESY well as two drawings by his one-time col- OF THE TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY. league, Samuel Paterson.29 In his personal papers, there is also a drawing of a door frame by another colleague, William Ford, activities highlight his seemingly lifelong Castlefield could not possibly hold stairs which is signed and dated from 1828.30 affinity for the building and suggest that as they do at Leeds. As such, the pointed It is possible that among these cherished it would not have been out of the ques- windows at Leeds were replaced by blind drawings there might have been at least tion for him to have designed a miniature panels at Castlefield. Other ornamental a sketch of Leeds Castle. replica of it at some point in his career. details correspond quite closely, or, at the very least, make use of the same archi- Beyond this, Howard also stated his inter- The scale differs; nevertheless, the mass- tectural language. est in Leeds Castle in print. In the afore- ing of the two buildings is identical and mentioned letter of 1870 published in many of the details of Castlefield were In the absence of textual evidence, the The Builder, Howard’s main purpose in simply smaller or shorthand versions of visual evidence indeed makes a strong writing to the magazine was to state his what is to be found at Leeds. Perhaps case for Howard as the architect of the appreciation of an article on the subject most visibly, both have a central pro- building. Seemingly, the only concrete of Leeds Castle that was printed in the jecting block with clasping octagonal link between Howard and Castlefield is November 6, 1869, issue.31 His continued buttresses topped by crenellation. The a note in Howard’s journal of 1837, which fascination with Leeds Castle becomes flanking wings are likewise each termin- states that he visited the owner, James apparent in another work of his, an ated by clasping buttresses (turrets of the Hervey Price, at his home, on March 29. unidentified design for a courthouse same form in the case of Leeds) topped Even though Howard kept a journal of that made use of the exact same clasp- by crenellation. Although they are his work, it was often spotty, excluding ing octagonal corner turrets (fig. 20). It square at Castlefield and octagonal at significant commissions that are known even made use of crenellation and of the Leeds, this type of simplification in con- to be his. In fact, he did not even keep simple lancet windows on the surface of struction was not uncommon in British a journal for the year of 1835, which is the turret as employed at Leeds Castle. It North America where skilled labour was when the building is commonly believed is clear, then, that these prominent fea- less available and where funds were to have been erected, and so his activities tures from the castle were retained in not nearly as abundant as those for an at that time are unknown. Furthermore, Howard’s imagination and in his architec- English manor. Because of the differ- while he briefly recapitulated the events tural vocabulary from a young age. These ence in scale, the clasping buttresses at of 1835 in his memoir of 1888, he left

JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 31 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

out several other projects that are cer- the existing city. The house was located appears to have been notable; its tainly his. The memoir, then, does not approximately four kilometres north of crenellated towers apparently became a represent a complete inventory of all of the northernmost border of the newly landmark known to locals his works, particularly as it was written incorporated City of Toronto (1834) and visitors alike.35 Despite the remark- late in his life. where land would have been cheaper able appearance of this house, it seems and more readily available than in the that most other citizens were then con- On the chance that Castlefield was rapidly expanding city itself. The prop- tent to remain with the brick Georgian not Howard’s design, the responsible erty consisted of “two hundred and ten house, as examples emerged well into architect must have also had a good acres extending from Yonge Street to the the middle of the nineteenth century. knowledge of Leeds Castle or had per- present Bathurst Street,”34 with present- The continued popularity of the classic- haps even seen drawings by Howard. day Eglinton and Lawrence avenues act- ally inspired house was likely due to a Although there were reproductions of ing as the north-south borders. In short, number of reasons, most important of the Castle that were published, most this was a massive lot beyond the confines which would have been practicality. A tended, according to the fashion of the of the city that was much less developed compact classical home was relatively time, to show a picturesque view that than those found in town. The place- easy to build, and this would have been did not include a head-on illustration of ment of the house in such picturesque essential in a land of few trained build- the façade, which is replicated almost landscape would have been absolutely ers and architects. It seems, too, that the exactly in Upper Canada. As such, the ideal: it was not in the city, but it was brick box was preferred for its ability to builder or architect must have found out not in rude, untamed nature either, as endure the North American climate; not about the façade and its minute details it was situated near Yonge Street which, only did its simple, central plan allow for through other direct means. Given at the time, was the major thoroughfare the easy heating of space, but there were Howard’s familiarity with picturesque stemming from Lake Ontario and running also no flimsy ornamental elements on Gothic, however, and the fact that he north through the province. Picturesque the exterior that might have been dam- was the only person actively working tenets held nature dear, after all, but the aged in inclement weather. in Gothic in the city (and possibly in the theory prized controlled nature and so a province), it is almost inconceivable that somewhat groomed landscape as well Overall, it appears as though not many he would not have been responsible for as proximity to a major city would have risks were taken in the growing metrop- Castlefield. Howard’s 1870 letter to The been considered assets. In contrast, most olis nor in the colony at large. With few Builder, moreover, states that he had met other towns and villages in Upper Canada exceptions, those who could afford to only two people in Canada West “who were still being developed at the time and build in such a novel architectural style knew anything of that castle,”32 lending would have been surrounded by rough, were not doing so. Beyond this, with its credence to the idea that Howard may, sublime nature. As such these locations implied associations of wealth and power, indeed, have been the only man capable would have been no place for an archi- the Gothic style at this point in time was of producing such a close copy. tectural trinket such as Castlefield; Gothic out of reach for many, and as a result houses were to be admired in the land- Gothic experimentation was not wide- Like Holland House and the additions scape, not consumed by it. Perhaps this is spread. While it is clear that the colony to Berkeley House, this little castle was another reason why the style appears not was growing and developing, the style of likely built for reasons of prestige. The to have been very popular in the Upper- architecture was not changing drastically. original owner of the home was James Canadian context at large. So, while Hervey Price, who, after studying law there was cause for wealthy citizens to Though the examples shown have strong and moving to Canada from England in establish their lineage, their fashionable ties to the popular English Gothic Revival, 1828, purchased large tracts of land north nature and their Britishness, it was likely in the context of Canadian architecture, of York. 33 Much like Boulton of Holland considered frivolous by most to build in these few Gothic houses should be con- House, Price was a wealthy man and the Gothic style in a settler’s context. sidered as experiments rather than as his small version of Leeds Castle helped the instigators of a trend. In fact, they to project this. One major difference While little is known of the specific may well have been the only houses con- from Holland House, however, is that details surrounding the construction of structed in the Gothic style before the Castlefield was built at a distance from Castlefield, its effect in the landscape union of the in 1841, which was

32 JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 JESSICA MACE > ANALYSIS | ANALYSE

followed by a greater influx of trained But Howard did not keep a journal prior to 20. Robertson, John Ross, 1917, Landmarks of architects. There are perhaps numerous 1833 and so his detailed work activities at Canada: What Art Has Done for Canadian that time are not known. Only on March 13, History: A Guide to the J. Ross Robertson reasons as to why there were few houses 1833, did Howard use the word “alteration,” Historical Collection in the Public Reference built in the Gothic style in Upper Canada, although the entry does not specify what he Library, Toronto, Canada, Toronto, s.e., p. 132. was altering. Otherwise, in that year’s journal, but it was not for lack of at least one will- 21. Martyn, The Face of Early Toronto… : 34. ing and able architect. with regard to Holland House, he discussed designing chimney pots, groins and cornices, 22. No evidence exists for any of these having and working on the plan of the house in been realized, although Howard wrote in NOTES general. his 1881 memoir that he built a frame house on Front Street in 1836 for Joseph D. Ridout. Harold Kalman also gives a date of 1831 in his Alternate designs, however, were produced 1. I would like to thank Marie-Josée Therrien and History of Canadian Architecture, 1994, vol. I, for Ridout’s cottage and so it is unclear as to Malcolm Thurlby for reviewing and providing Toronto, Oxford University Press, p. 276. comments on this article. I would also like to which was actually built, if at all. 11. Hill, Robert G., n.d., “John George Howard,” thank them both, as well as Luc Noppen and 23. Robertson, John Ross, 1894, Landmarks of Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Lucie K. Morisset, for encouraging me to pub- Toronto. A Collection of Historical Sketches Canada, 1800-1950, [www.dictionaryofar- lish my research in the Journal of the Society of the Old Town of York from 1792 until 1833, chitectsincanada.org/architects/view/1532], for the Study of Architecture in Canada. and of Toronto from 1834 to 1893, Toronto, accessed July 2, 2013; Unknown author, 1885, The research from this paper was extracted J. Ross Robertson. from my doctoral dissertation completed in “Old Toronto Mansions,” Toronto World, 2015, which was funded by a Joseph-Armand November 16, p. 1. 24. Mealing, S.R., n.d., “John Small,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship 12. Howard, John George, 1980, The Journal of of Toronto / Université Laval, [http://www. from the Social Sciences and Humanities John George Howard, 1833-49, April 12, 1833, biographi.ca/en/bio/small_john_6E.html], Research Council of Canada. in Morriss, op. cit., vol. I, p. 26. accessed May 2014. 2. Mace, Jessica, 2015, Nation Building: Gothic 13. Id., April 4, 1833 : 24. Revival Houses in Upper Canada and Canada 25. Howard, Incidents in the Life of John G. West, 1791-1867, doctoral dissertation in art 14. Id., January 18 and January 24, 1833 : 4. Howard… : 3. history and visual culture, York University, 15. Senior, Hereword and Elinor Senior, n.d., 26. Ibid. Toronto, p. 44-47. “Henry John Boulton,” Dictionary of Canadian 27. Cleggett, David Arthur Henry, 1994, History Biography, vol. 9. / 3. West, Bruce, 1967, Toronto, Toronto, of Leeds Castle and its Families, Maidstone, Université Laval, [www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ Doubleday Canada, p. 106. Kent, Leeds Castle Foundation, p. 165. boulton_henry_john_9E.html], accessed July 4. Lundell, Liz, 1997, The Estates of Old Toronto, 2013. 28. McManus, Shirley, 1975, The Life of John Erin, ON, Boston Mills Press, p. 12; West : 106. George Howard, Toronto, s.e., p. 58 and 16. Throughout his life, Howard gave several Schedule E, p. 7. 5. Martyn, Lucy Booth, 1982, The Face of Early different explanations as to the reason for Toronto: An Archival Record 1797-1936, Sutton changing his name. The first story is that he 29. Howard, Catalogue of Paintings… : 6-7. West, ON, Paget Press, p. 9. was born out of wedlock, given his step-fa- 30. Held in the Baldwin Collection at the Toronto ther’s name of Corby, and so changed it to his 6. West : 134. Reference Library. actual father’s name, Howard, upon arriving 7. Martyn, The Face of Early Toronto… : 9. in Canada. Later in life, he claimed that he 31. Howard, “A Note from Toronto” : 90. 8. Howard, John George, 1888, Incidents in the changed his name because he was a descend- 32. Ibid. Life of John G. Howard, Esq. of Colborne ent of Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of 33. Gates, Lillian F., n.d., “James Hervey Price,” Lodge, , near Toronto, Chiefly Norfolk, which reinforces the idea that he did Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 11, Adapted from his Journals, Toronto, Copp so for credibility and prestige. Howard, 1980, University of Toronto / Université Laval, [www. Clark Company, Limited, p. 3. vol. I, p. 133. biographi.ca/en/bio/price_james_hervey_11E. 9. Tyack, Geoffrey, 2013, “Domestic Gothic,” 17. Walpole, Horace, 1961, The Yale Edition of html], accessed July 2, 2013. in John Nash: Architect of the Picturesque, Horace Walpole’s Correspondence, W.S. Lewis 34. Martyn, Lucy Booth, 1980, Aristocratic Swindon, English Heritage, p. 40. (ed.), New Haven, Yale University Press, p. 111. Toronto: 19th Century Grandeur, Toronto, 10. Shirley Morriss compiled, annotated, and 18. Howard, John George, 1884, Catalogue of Gage, p. 58. published the handwritten journals of John Paintings in the Gallery at Colborne Lodge, 35. Martyn, The Face of Early Toronto… : 59. George Howard. Morriss’s explanatory foot- High Park; a Donation from John G. Howard, note for Howard’s entry of January 2, 1833, in Esq. to the Corporation of the City of Toronto, the Journal of John G. Howard, claims a start May 7, 1881, Toronto, Copp, Clark & co., p. 15. date of 1831 and that Howard was working 19. Howard, John George, 1870, “A Note from on “an alteration for Holland House” early Toronto,” The Builder, vol. 28, January 29, in 1833. Morriss, Shirley G. (ed.), 1980, The p. 90. Journal of John George Howard, 1833-49, Toronto, Ontario Heritage Foundation.

JSSAC | JSÉAC 41 > No 2 > 2016 33