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Working to Preserve Convent's History

Bradford - A lot of people are interested in seeing the empty building known as the old convent on Barrie Street saved, says one Bradford resident who is determined to do his part.

Jim Culbert, known to those who have had him repair or finish furniture as The Furniture Doctor, has made the fate of the convent a personal concern.

His interest in the convent has resulted in several newspaper articles citing him as someone who knows a lot about the building's past, and every time one is published he gets calls of support from others, he says.

If, as is likely, a committee is struck to determine how the convent will be converted into a recreation complex, (as is recommended in the master recreation plan) Mr. Culbert says he wants to be on the committee.

"The entrance hall is large enough for a reception area," he said, in an interview at his Bradford home. "And the games room, living room and dining room could all be used without changing them."

Mr. Culbert's interest in the building isn't just as an observer. He has toured the building since it was left empty a few years ago when it was sold to the town by Fred Picavet.

The video tape he made of the building has been joined with a film of the April 1986 council meeting where council decided to end a long simmering court battle with Mr. Picavet and bought the convent for $125,000.

(The purchase was agreed to in conjunction with signing a subdivision approval for Mr. Picavet, a situation that Reeve Sandy Hudson said, "stinks," but it was approved on a vote of 4-2; Deputy-reeve Bill Dykie also voted against; councillor Gary Lamb was absent.)

Now, also on that tape, is last week's master recreation plan meeting. The subject of the convent was not discussed at the meeting, but the recommendations of the report include a suggestion that the convent be partly renovated and turned into a recreation complex.

Mr. Culbert said he plans to edit and complete the tape when the convent reaches its next evolution. Then, he will give one copy to the library, and one to the town, he said, in the hopes that the building's history can stay alive.

He is also working on a booklet on the convent's history, which now includes news clippings, letters and photographs.

He has tried to contact some of the former residents or their families, and has been somewhat successful. Although he could not get any information from the Ursuline Nuns who once resided in the building, he did contact the grandson of Samuel Lukes, owner of the building from 1910 to 1929, when it went to his son Gilbert.

Tom Lukes wrote from Wales about his memories as a young adult.

Mr. Culbert said he also received a phone call from the grandson of missionary Egerton Ryerson Young, who owned it from 1903 to 1910.

"He was quite indignant," Mr. Culbert said, about a news article that referred to the building as a grand old house, and home to the wealthy and prominent.

"His grandfather was not a rich person," Mr. Culbert said.

Although he objected to the view of the building as a mansion, he said he wanted to see it preserved, and told Mr. Culbert he would donate some money if fundraising were done.

Mr. Culbert said once he finishes his history of the convent, he would like to see it, or some other indication of the buildings history, in the entranceway of the building when it is reopened.

Chronology

(As compiled, in part, by Jim Culbert)

Aug. 2, 1871 - John MacLean Stevenson bought three acres of land on the east of Barrie Street, between Letitia and Moore Streets, from John and Eliza Armstrong, for $1,200.

June 29, 1876 - Mr. Stevenson, reeve from 1871-1877, borrowed $3,957.50 to start construction on plans he brought back from Scotland, for a castle with an Italianate flavor.

April 10, 1877 - the house was sold to Robert Bingham for $5,500. The family lived there for 16 years, until Robert's death. April 20, 1893 - Caroline Bingham sold the home to James and Emily Boddy for $2,000, the price lowered by the depression. James Boddy, Reeve from 1894-96, lived in "Fairview," until November 24, 1903, when it was sold under power of sale for $1,900 to Charlotte Jeffs, and quickly resold for $2,300 to Rev. Egerton Ryerson Young.

"Algonquin Lodge" was home to the world-famed reverend until his death in 1910.

April 10, 1910 - sold to Samuel Lukes by Rev. Young's widow Libbie Bingham, for $3,600.

Renovations including new verandahs, were made to 'Luxalean."

Feb. 26, 1929 Samuel's son Gilbert took over the home on his father's death and made alterations to the front and side, including additions of the sunroom. The outside was stuccoed for warmth.

June 1945, Nov. 1947, July 1949 - three parcels of land were severed from the property and sold to neighbours.

Oct. 26, 1949 - sold to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto for $19,000, and again sold Dec. 10, 1950 to the Ursulina Order of the Diocese of London, a group of teaching nuns, for $14,000, which excluding the land to the south, where St. Mary's Catholic School was built.

July 4, 1969 - sold to John and Maria Moniz for $28,000. It was renovated to an apartment building (contrary to zoning bylaws).

Feb. 10, 1981 - The deed was acquired by Fred and Betty Lou Picavet, who began removing the stucco and interior plaster, with plans to renovate and live in the home.

Feb. 26, 1981 - Bradford Council brought a stop to work order and a certificate of Lis Pendents, and the ownership of the building went before the courts.

The building lay empty, and began deteriorating as each side said they were the rightful owners.

April 16, 1986 - Bradford Council signed an agreement to purchase the building for $125,000 from the Picavets.

The building has been boarded up since then, awaiting a decision on its fate. The master recreation plan, released in draft form March 10, 1987, suggests it be partially demolished, partially renovated to form part of a new recreation and leisure complex on the site.

Advertisement for William Lawrie's London Equitable Insurance Co. on John Street

Advertisement for William Jordan's house and sign painting services on Holland St.

Advertisement for Thomas Maconchy's clerk services, which began in 1843.

Maconchy was also the 'founder' of Gilford, won the contract to build an extension of the railway through Bradford and Gilford, and owned a very lucrative mill. See Governor Simcoe Slept Here p211 for more information on Gilford's founding.

Advertisement for Thomas Driffill's hardware store. He began with a blacksmith's shop in December, 1831, and later moved on to hardwares.

"Masons, carpenters and painters have been for some time and are still at work at Algonquin Lodge, and "vaster than has been" are the improvements that are being made. This property was lately purchased from the Estate of the late Rev. E.R. Young by Mr. samuel Lukes, who contemplates making many changes to this already handsome structure, besides installing a hot water heating system, sceptic tank, etc."

The Grand Old Dame of Bradford

It's been a convent and home for the rich in the past 111 years.

It stands like a grand old lady on Bradford's main street, its ancient facade belonging to a bygone era.

But time has chipped the regal bearing of the building, wrinkling its paint and the once shiny windows that surveyed a street filled with horses and carriages are now broken and empty.

Originally a home for the town's wealthy and prominent, the 1876 mansion was also used as a convent and as an apartment building.

The building was stripped of the last vestiges of stateliness in the last five years when the Town of Bradford and its owners were embroiled in a legal controversy over ownership.

Plagued by Vandals

Left in limbo, the house was plagued by vandals and disuse. It was then that Bradford resident Jim Culbert launched his one-man crusade to have the home returned to its former glory.

The town council wanted to tear the house down to make way for a library, but now as the dispute with owner Fred Picavet is settled and the town takes possession under a new council, the future of The Old Convent is once again up in the air.

While Mayor Bill DePeuter says it isn't economically feasible to retain the complete house, he plans to hold a public meeting for residents' input into the building's fate.

But 36-year-old Culbert insists the town landmark should be preserved intact and renovated "as a tribute to those men and women who gave us our historical heritage."

He spent many an hour in libraries and registry offices and spoke to past owners in an effort to trace the heritage of the historic house.

The building is steeped in the town's history, back in 1871 when John and Eliza Armstrong sold their three-acre parcel of land bound by Letitia, Barrie and Moore streets to John MacLean Stevenson for $1,200.

Stevenson wanted a unique design for his dream house and on returning from a trip to Scotland, the Bradford lawyer brought back plans based for a Scottish castle.

At that time, English aristocrats, and later the wealthy in Ontario, were copying the design of Queen Victoria's and Prince Albert's country retreat on the Isle of Wight.

It soon became apparent to curious onlookers that the home under construction in 1876 was to emulate this popular Italianate style.

Topping the majestic home was a widow's walk or Italian campanile, an octagonal tower with windows on each side that provided a breathtaking view of Bradford and the surrounding countryside.

Inside the house, an enormous, graceful staircase spirals upwards, from the large foyer. The cherrywood that it is made of borders doors and windows throughout the house.

Off the entrance lies the formal living room with its three large windows, separated by pockets doors from a games room with oak panels, fireplace mantel and broad ceiling beams.

Beautiful Interior

A mahogany fireplace and large picture window grace the music room at the front, connected by an arched doorway to the sun room.

The back of the mansion houses the large dining room and kitchen with wainscotted walls. Behind the kitchen lies a storage room for food and meat curing. Stairways lead to the basement and second floor.

On the second floor, a distinctively etched window once separated the stair landing from the hallway, but was recently smashed by vandals. That window was the sole source of natural light for the hallway.

The upstairs landing and hallway floors are made of oak with intricate designs. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a dressing room complete the second floor.

Another spiral staircase leads up to the tower landing and widow's walk from where the climber can see the lake to the northeast, Newmarket to the southeast, the marsh to the south and Bradford to the north.

It is this that Culbert is fighting to keep from becoming a memory, lost in the name of progress.

The dignified house was resided in by Stevenson, the reeve until 1877. Later that year it was sold to Robert Bingham for $5,500.

Seventeen years later, Robert's widow Caroline sold the home for $2,000 during a depression. James Boddy, the reeve from 1894 to 1896, took over the house, calling it Fairview.

The deed passed through several hands until famed Canadian missionary and author Rev. Egerton R. Young of Bradford bought the house for $2,300 in 1903.

Renamed Algonquin Lodge, the minister made it his home shortly after marrying one of Bradford's most attractive ladies, Libbie Bingham. After his death in 1910, the house was again sold, going to Samuel Lukes for $3,600.

Renovations

The Lukes family, which operated the busy Bradford Flour Mill on Holland Street, made several repairs to their house, replacing the verandas with one large one.

In 1929, Samuel's son Gilbert continued alterations, adding a sun room, changing the location of the driveway and entrance steps as well as stuccoing the home for warmth.

Artie Saint. the town's popular house and barn builder, was commissioned to do the renovations, converting a bedroom into a dressing room and building the unique bathroom with bidet, shower, bath and toilet that still stands today. A garage and stable were added to the rear of the house.

Lukes began selling off parcels of land surrounding the house in 1945, and in 1949, a For Sale sign went up again on the front lawn of what was then called Luxalean.

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Toronto bought the house for $19,000 but soon sold it to the Ursuline Order of the Diocese of London, a group of teaching nuns.

However, the plot of land south to the house was retained and St. Mary's Catholic School was built.

The stately mansion passed through on era of grandeur and spacious living, the huge terraced gardens becoming a concrete driveway and then in 1969, it was converted into an apartment house by John and Maria Moniz.

Despite town bylaws prohibiting such use, it was used as a multiple family dwelling for 12 years until 1981 when the 105-year-old building was sold to Fred and Betty-Lou Picavet for $90,000.

The Picavets hoped to restore the house but had only stripped plaster from the inner and outer walls, in tending to insulate for a warm and comfortable home, when they were halted by a certificate of lis pendents filed by the town in February, 1981.

The town had issued a stop-work order and Picavets in turn sued the town.

Mayor DePeuter said although the town had offered to buy the house and placed a deposit, the Picavets stepped in with the cash.

An agreement was reached this month, ending the lawsuits, and the town will purchase the house from the Picavets.

The mayor said council will discuss ways that the building can be used by residents, adding the neighbouring old St. Mary's school is well-used as a nursery school and community meeting hall.

While DePeuter says he realizes some residents will want the building retained for historical reasons, he feels it would cost too much. Instead, certain parts such as the facade or tower could be kept, he adds.

Community Uses

The dispute over ownership was of little concern to Culbert, a self-admitted antique lover and owner of The Furniture Doctor. He only wishes to see the house restored without the loss of its original character.

Culbert says the house could have a number of community uses, adding if elevators were installed, it would make a beautiful library.

He estimated the 111-year-old house would need about $250,000 in repairs including new plumbing, drywall, insulation and doors and windows.

"It may be in disrepair but it's never sagged," he says. "It still is standing."

The mayor says council isn't in a hurry to make a decision about the building but will likely decide its fate by the end of the year.

Until then, like any grand old lady, the house patiently waits, accepting the ravages of time and age with stoicism while memories dance inside.

This newspaper article is from the Bradford Womens Institute Scrapbooks.

"Tenders will be received by the undersigned up to the 20th July, 1908, for the erection of a new School House in S.S. No. 6, West Gwillimbury. For plans and specifications apply to T.D. Stoddart."

"The Trustees of School Section No. 6, West Gwillimbury are asking for tenders for re-modelling of the old school, also for building a new school. For plans and specifications apply to T.D. Stoddart. The lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Tenders closed the 11th March."