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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.

Article about the dedication ceremony of Trinity Anglican Church's extension.

This article describes the ground-breaking ceremony of Trinity Anglican Church's expansion project, held on June 22, 1986.

Padre Ormand Hopkins being inducted into the parish of Trinity Bradford and Coulson's Hill. Also in the picture are Jim McClockin, June Brown and Jack Hambly.

BRADFORD - Life-long Bradford resident and lawyer C.T.S. "Charlie" Evans last week shed further light on the history of the old convent on Barrie St.

The convent it currently the object of a legal tussle over ownership between the town and the contractor Fred Picavet.

Mr. Evans said he recalls being told by Kate Stevenson, the daughter of 19th century Bradford lawyer John MacLean Stevenson, that her father constructed the house based on plans of a Scots castle.

A CASTLE
"I recall her telling me that at one time he had gone to Scotland and had come back with plans of a castle and that he had this house built according to that plan," Mr. Evans said.

According to his personal records, Mr. Evans noted that Mr. Stevenson had been a Master of the Masonic Lodge in Bradford in 1877, a post usually held by older men.

"So hazarding a guess I would have to say that that house would be 150 years old," he surmised.

FIRST WAR
He said that the Lukes family, who owned the Bradford flour mill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, likely moved into the house around the beginning of the First World War.

"Dick Crake bought the Lukes' house (where the Anzil Plaza now stands) around that time and the Lukes moved into what everyone now knows as the old convent."

Mr. Evans said a check could be made in the registry office in Barrie to determine when the property was originally purchased by Mr. Stevenson.

Thomas Wells Opens School

The new Bradford District High School was officially opened by Education Minister Thomas Wells last Tuesday in a ceremony involving dignitaries from the province, the county, and the town of Bradford.

About 400 people braved the cold and blowing snow to attend the event, highlighted by a policy statement from the education minister, a tribute to Bradford resident Tom Gardner, and a key presentation from architects Adamson Associates and contractor C.A. Smith to principal Alex Taylor.

A moment of silence was also observed for Simcoe County Board of Education superintendent of planning Syd Owens who died the previous Sunday of a heart attack.

Trustee Sam Neilly said of Mr. Owens, "He was one of the most important men in the planning and design of this school. His sudden passing leaves us saddened."

Addresses followed by MPP George McCague (Dufferin-Simcoe), West Gwillimbury Reeve John Fennell, Bradford Mayor Roy Gordon, and York-Simcoe MPP Arthur Evans who introduced Mr. Wells.

Principal Alex Taylor gave a brief history of education in the Bradford area, which began in 1852 with the opening of a grammar school in Bond Head.

After the railway was opened to Bradford in 1859, Mr. Taylor said, the growth of Bradford warranted the establishment of a school there, and the grammar school was loaded onto wagons and moved to Bradford.

He joked that it was the first portable in the county.

Another school was built in 1890 which burned two years later, and a new brick school was built in 1893, but it too was destroyed by fire in 1923.

In 1923 Bradford District High School was constructed (now the Fred C. Cook Senior Public School) which served as the high school until last year.

Bradford's 1976 citizen of the year Tom Gardner, a long-time member of the school board before his retirement, was honored by the chairman of the Simcoe County Board of Education, C.W. Brown.

Mr. Brown called Tom Gardner "Mr. Education," and described his life-long efforts on behalf of education in the country.

He then presented Mr. Gardner with a plaque naming the resource centre in the school "The T.H. Gardner Resource Centre."

Mr. Gardner received a standing ovation from the assembly, and called the tribute "the highlight of my life."

Director of Education Jack Ramsay pointed out to Mr. Wells that the pressure would soon be on for the go-ahead to an extension for the new school next year.

He laughed, "We are optimistic that there will be no delay for that since Mr. Wells is present here."

Trustee Sam Neilly told the audience that today was Mr. Ramsay's birthday, and everyone promptly broke into a rendition of Happy Birthday.

The program concluded with a guided tour of the new high school.

Retiring After 31 Years Brings Her Mixed Emotions
By John Slykhuis

After 31 years of teaching about 1,000 pupils at Bradford Public School, Barbara Stewart is retiring at the end of this school year. It's a thought that brings a mixture of emotions for her. One one hand is the anticipation of doing the things she has been dreaming of for years: travelling extensively in winter and relaxing at her cottage in Minden in summer. On the other hand: "I'm going to miss the children," she admits, "And the staff too. I have many good friends here." Her last class, she says, is particularly special. "I'm really enjoying this last class. This is one of the nicest classes I've ever taught." This Grade 3 class, like the one she started with in 1941, is small and close, almost like a family. She had 13 children to teach in a small one room schoolhouse in Markham Township that first year, and they represented all eight grades. Five years later, she started at the old Bradford Public School, and she has been here ever since. There are so many memories here for Miss Stewart that it is difficult for her to pick out any one, but one does stand out in her mind. Several years ago, the Lions Club of Bradford brought over a crippled girl from India, Vanita Khubchandi, to have an operation at Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto. While here, she attended Miss Stewart's Grade 7 class. "She came every morning in an ambulance on a stretcher. She had to lie flat on her back all the time...The children really took to her." Then the day arrived for her operation. "The biggest thrill was the day she walked back into the classroom. Oh, the children were so excited. They had a party for her." Miss Stewart still hears from her occasionally and reports that she is walking well and has just finished high school. There are other memories too: walking through snow bank in the early years only to find out when she arrives that the school was closed; teaching her favorite subject, music; and taking the girls' choir to Newmarket where it won first prize. She taught a huge 45-pupil Grade 4-5 class a few years ago ("that was the most challenging and the most rewarding"), and watched the growth of children just arrived from other countries ("It was most rewarding to see them learn the language and go on to do well"). And what about the modern school system? "Well, I approve of the new standard of reporting the progress of a child. But I would far sooner talk to the parents. It's better than any report card. You find out so much more about the child." She adds however, "I believe in marking. I don't see how you can teach without it." Home for Miss Stewart is Markham, where she spends every weekend with her family, and until recently she was the organist at the Markham Presbyterian Church. "I retired as the organist last June. I guess you could say I'm tearing up all my roots...no, routines. I'm tearing up all my old routines." Although she is leaving Bradford for good at the end of this school year, Miss Stewart has reassured her friends that she will be coming back often to visit.

From the back of the photograph:
"On Saturday, June 5, 1976, and historical plaque commemorating the "Dutch Settlement of Holland Marsh" was unveiled at the Old Schoolhouse in the village of Ansnorveldt. This plaque was erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency within the Ministry of Culture and Recreation.
Shown from left to right following the unveiling ceremony are: Mr. Mat Valk, representative of the Ministry of Agriculture Muck Research Station, Bradford; Professor William Ormsby, representative of the Ontario Heritage Foundation; Mr. G.E. Wright, York region Municipality Chairman; Mr. Sinclair Stevens, M.P. (York-Simcoe); His Worship Tale Everhuis, Burgomaster of the Town of Nieuwe Pekela, the Netherlands; Mr. Charles T.S. Evans, long-time legal advisor to the Holland Marsh community; Mrs. Margaret Britnell, Head of the King Township Council; Mrs. and Mr. M. Van Dyken, two of the original Dutch settlers; Mr. William Hodgson, M.P.P. (York-North); the Reverend Max J. Lise; Mr. John Van Dyk, another original settler; Mr. Walter Horlings, a prominent resident of the Marsh; and Mr. John Boneschansker, President of the Senior Citizens' Club."

Article describing how Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cook are to be honored for their commitment to the Trinity Anglican Church.

This baseball team photograph of the Detroit Tigers contains Mike Kilkenny, a Bradford resident signed on to the team in 1964.