The Ottawa Legacy of Harry Horwood
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Dedicated to Preserving Our Built Heritage May 2016 Volume 43, No. 2 Heritage News Now The Ottawa Legacy of Gordon Cullingham Research and Harry Horwood Publication Grant By Andrew Billingsley, UE An inscription, “Harry Horwood, Ottawa, April 1879”, was discovered on the base of the great West Window in Ottawa’s Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1986, more than Photo: Roger Lalonde Roger Photo: 100 years after it was written. The L-R: David Jeanes, Janet Irwin (widow of discovery was made by the staff Gordon Cullingham, former President of Heritage Ottawa), Hagit Hadaya (grant of Northern Art Glass Inc. during recipient), Councillor Tobi Nussbaum restoration of the church’s stained Three projects were chosen to glass. The name meant little to receive the 2016 Cullingham grant. most people. Today, Horwood We presented the award to one of is recognized as one of the first the recipients during the Heritage Day designers and producers of stained celebrations at City Hall. The other two recipients were unable to glass in Canada, an artist who had attend and will receive their awards studios in Ottawa, Prescott, Ontario, at the Heritage Ottawa Annual and Ogdensburg, New York. General Meeting in May. Glenn Brian Further details about the winners and their In 1855, at age 17, Harry arrived projects are available on our website: in Toronto from England, already a Photo: https://heritageottawa.org/news/ stained glass artist. He found work Altar window from the first St. Matthias heritage-ottawa-awards-2016- with a young Irish glass stainer, Church designed by Harry Horwood, gordon-cullingham-research-grants Joseph McCausland, and within six now installed in the west wall of the Heritage Reference years, Harry was made a partner in present church building. List Update McCausland and Horwood. Their commissions also took them to The City of Ottawa Planning Ottawa where the first Parliament Department has hired two heritage Buildings were under construction. researchers to update the City’s Correction heritage inventory, using mapping The altar window shown on page technology which will make the Stained glass was enjoying a revival th one of the article about St. Matthias information available on the City’s in the last half of the 19 century. Church in the February Newsletter website at the end of the project. Radical Protestants in Tudor and is the work of Leonard Pike. We apologize Staff have begun using the new app Stuart England had caused the for this error. The Harry Horwood and will be reaching out to interested destruction of stained glass windows communities in the coming months. window appears above. in churches for fear that idolatrous 1 Legacy of Harry Horwood cont’d. a large family, whose father died when he was three years old. Harry and Heritage Ottawa is a non-profit organization dedicated to the two brothers had been encouraged preservation of Ottawa’s built heritage. by the Church’s minister to learn stained glass making, and eventually, Linda Hoad the three of them formed Horwood Editor Brothers Stained Glass Works, in Jan Soetermans neighbouring Frome. Graphic Designer Harry returned to England in 1864, Katari Imaging and remained there for at least ten Printing years. During that time, he married Heritage Ottawa and had five children, four of them Martin David Photo: 2 Daly Avenue boys – Harry James, Clarence, Edgar, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6E2 Harry Horwood and Victor. A fifth son, Allan, was Tel: 613-230-8841 practices might be inspired by the born later in Canada. Fax: 613-564-4428 presence of “images”. Email: [email protected] In 1877, Harry returned to Canada Web: www.heritageottawa.org Harry had been schooled in the art and came to Ottawa; a H. Horwood, David Jeanes of making stained glass windows “glass stainer”, listing appeared in the President at a craft school established at St. City Directory, at 348 Wellington Leslie Maitland Andrew’s Church in Mells, the village Street. Two years later, Harry moved Past-President in Somerset where he was born in his studio to 450 Sussex Drive to Mike Steinhauer 1838. He was the second youngest in work on the Cathedral windows. Vice-President Operations Linda Hoad Vice-President Programs Anne Maheux Treasurer Louise Fox Secretary (vacant) Legal Consultant Danielle Jones Website Directors: Jay Baltz, Doug Beaton, Richard Belliveau, Linda Dicaire, Ken Elder, Ian Ferguson, Danielle Jones, Robert Martin, Heather McArthur, Hunter McGill, Karen Prytula, Carolyn Quinn, Nicole Sammut, Katherine Spencer-Ross. Heritage Ottawa acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Ministry of Culture publique d’Ottawa Library/Bibliothèque Public Ottawa Photo: Window created for the Ottawa Public Library (1906) now located in the Main Branch. 2 The large window above the entrance A third major contract followed in to the Cathedral, facing Sussex Drive, 1883 to design and fabricate stained measures thirty-two feet high, and glass windows for the residence of sixteen feet wide. During that time J.P. Wiser, a wealthy Prescott Harry also received commissions distillery owner. The house has since from St. Patrick’s Basilica, St. Alban’s, been demolished, but the windows and other Ottawa area churches. were removed and restored, and are on public display in Upper Canada In 1880, Harry received another Village, near Morrisburg, Ontario. major commission to create stained glass for a new Town Hall and Opera Like his father, Harry James had a House in Ogdensburg, where he had talent for creating stained glass, and Photo: David Martin David Photo: opened a branch office. A stained all the Horwood brothers had a flair Harry Horwood signature on the Notre glass works in Prescott, just across the for design. In 1891, all were involved Dame Basilica window St. Lawrence River, was established with the firm, which became known the next year, once Harry had found as H. Horwood & Sons. Harry James a home in nearby New Wexford for subsequently moved to Ogdensburg, memorial windows from the original his arriving family. The eldest son, where he continued to produce stained St. Matthias Anglican Church date Harry James, was then 16 years old. glass for fifty years. from that time. An Ogdensburg studio came later. Son Edgar (1868 – In 1906, Edgar collaborated with his 1957), meanwhile, father to design the Ottawa Public became interested in Library, with a magnificent large architecture, and in stained glass window above the main 1895, at age 27, had entrance. The window honours six established a practice famous authors, and Ottawa poet, in Ottawa, known as Archibald Lampman. Today, the E. L. Horwood. His window is installed in the atrium of two younger brothers the Library’s Main Branch. followed in his Harry died at his Ottawa South footsteps, beginning home at 16 Rosedale Avenue in as draftsmen in his 1917, after creating a window for firm. Allan continued the Blue Church in Prescott, near to practice in Ottawa the Horwood plot. The inscription with Edgar, eventually reads “To the Glory of God, in loving as Horwood and memory of Harry Horwood, who Horwood, while Victor painted the above panel.” With his chose to practice in sons, Harry has left us a legacy that Winnipeg, becoming will be admired for generations. Manitoba’s Provincial Architect. Edgar Andrew Billingsley is a Heritage eventually became Ottawa member, and author of the Chief Dominion recent article on St. Matthias Church. Architect serving from His research on this building led 1915-1919. him to the story of Harry Horwood’s Ottawa career. Harry and his wife returned to Ottawa in Sources 1898, where he opened Northern Art Glass Inc., 955 a new studio at 402 Gladstone Avenue in Ottawa Bank Street, with son http://northernartglass. Photo: David Martin David Photo: Clarence later joining com/2014/04/harry-horwood-a- Notre Dame Basilica west window him as Manager. The 19th-century-glass-master/ 3 From the President By David Jeanes Louise Fox, to establish a fund Carleton’s Heritage Symposium on for employing a young heritage April 23, Jane’s Walk weekend on professional, we advertised May 7-8 and Doors Open Ottawa widely for candidates and by on June 3-4. the April 1 deadline had received Our walking tour planning for the 21 high-quality applications. coming summer and fall season is The manager intern position will also shaping up well and will again improve Heritage Ottawa’s include event-specific walks on capabilities in research, advocacy, Colonel By Weekend and during publications and programming and Archaeology Month in August. we hope will provide valuable work We are now also planning for special and career-building experience for activities in 2017, the year of Canada’s the employee. sesquicentennial. Our lead project is Since the last newsletter appeared in a planned web-based publication that mid-February we have had another will profile fifty buildings or sites that successful Heritage Day exhibit at represent the work of Heritage Ottawa City Hall, including presenting the Heritage Ottawa depends on in conservation efforts since 1967 - Gordon Cullingham research and its members and volunteers for fifty years since Canada’s Centennial. publication award to one of the three support, both financial and in the Other special activities with a winners for 2016. Hagit Hadaya sesquicentennial focus will be part received her cheque from Councillor time that people can contribute to of our 2017 lecture and walking Tobi Nussbaum and myself in the our broad spectrum of activities tour programs. There are also presence of Gordon’s widow, to educate the public and to important heritage-related conferences Janet Irwin. The other winners, planned for Ottawa in 2017 with Lynn Armstrong and Dustin Valen protect our built heritage which we will co-operate.