Henry Hodge Horsey – Church Architect

Henry Hodge Horsey (1830-1911)
NORTH WAKEFIELD, QUE., Methodist Church, Masham Township, 1874-75 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 20 Jan. 1875, 22)

DOMINION METHODIST CHURCH, Metcalfe Street at Queen Street, Ottawa 1875-76 (Daily Citizen [Ottawa], 8 March 1875, 1, descrip.; Free Press [Ottawa], 10 June 1875, 4, descrip.; 7 Oct. 1876, 4, descrip.)

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Charles Albert Walton – Church Architect

Richmond Hill Methodist Church Construction-1880

Walton, Charles Albert (1845-1908) was born at Leeds, England in January 1845 and was brought to Canada by his parents in 1856. He served an apprenticeship under William Kauffman of Toronto and was said to have possessed ‘a natural taste for the profession, and entered actively upon it on his own account, travelling extensively and practising in Toronto, Montreal, Albany, Detroit and Chicago (biography in Dominion Illustrated [Toronto], 1891-92, 122). He was a partner in the Detroit office of Knapp & Walton in 1875-76, and maintained his own office there in 1876-77; he claimed credit for the design of the Michigan Central Building in that city, but this cannot be substantiated in other source material. Upon his return to Toronto he joined in a partnership with William Storm; the relationship was short-lived however, and by 1878 he had commenced practice on his own account (see list of works under Storm & Walton).

During the next thirty years he worked in Toronto under his own name except for a brief period in late 1895 when he was joined by Luke A. Woods, an obscure figure. George M. Miller worked as an apprentice in his office from 1883 until 1885. In 1881 Walton prepared an elaborate Gothic design for Grace Church, Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg (Winnipeg Daily Times, 3 May 1881, 1, descript.;). His proposal was not built however, yet he was mistakenly credited with the design of this building erected two years later and designed by James Chisholm.

In Toronto his major work was the innovative design for the Toronto Arcade, Yonge Street, 1883-84, with its elaborate ‘Neo-Grec’ facade and arched entrance demarcating the pedestrian shopping walkway leading through to Victoria Street. Regrettably this important Canadian precedent for the urban retail shopping complex was demolished in 1955.

Walton suffered a stroke in late 1906 and died in Toronto on 23 September 1908 (obituary in the Telegram [Toronto], 24 Sept. 1908, 7; Toronto Star, 24 Sept. 1908, 1; biography in C.B. Robinson, History of Toronto and the County of York, 1885, i, 358; M. Bixby, Industries of Canada-Toronto, 1886, 121) from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

SPADINA AVENUE METHODIST CHURCH, Spadina Avenue at College Street, 1879; demol. 1887 (Globe [Toronto], 14 June 1879, 7, t.c.; Mail [Toronto], 25 June 1879, 4, descrip.)

RICHMOND HILL, ONT., Methodist Church, Yonge Street at Centre Street, 1880-81 (Globe [Toronto], 20 March 1880, 6, t.c.; Christian Guardian [Toronto], 13 April 1881, 119; Jubilee History of Richmond Hill Methodist Church, 1907, 8)

NEW RICHMOND METHODIST CHURCH, McCaul Street opposite Grange Avenue, 1887 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 7 Sept. 1887, 565)

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Julian Charles Forster – Church Architect

 

Hanover Methodist Church – 1900

Forster, Julian Charles (1860-1934) from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

EUPHRASIA TOWNSHIP, Methodist Church, 1892 (Christian Guardian (Toronto), 16 March 1892, 165)

LYONS, ONT., Methodist Church, 1892 (C.R., iii, 16 April 1892, 1)

ALLANFORD, ONT., Methodist Church, 1900 (C.R., xi, 11 July 1900, 3, t.c.)

HANOVER, ONT., Methodist Church, 1900 (C.R., xi, 11 July 1900, 3, t.c.)

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Thomas Cutherbertson – Church Architect

Bright Methodist Church – 1892

Cuthbertson, Thomas (1848-1894) was born at Lowick Moor, Northumberland, England in 1848 and was brought to Canada in 1860 by his parents who settled in Blanford Township. He worked as a carpenter and as an employee of the Grand Trunk Railway at Brantford, Ont. and ‘..studied architecture while at his trade’.

In 1883 he entered the office of T.H. Goff, an architect of Woodstock, and later bought out the business.

In 1886 he formed a partnership with Joseph A. Fowler of Toronto, but it appears that Fowler chose to remain in Toronto to pursue his own work while the commissions in the Woodstock office of Cuthbertson & Fowler were carried out under the supervision of Cuthbertson.

His designs were eclectic and often highly mannered, incorporating Romanesque Revival features which had rarely been seen outside the large city centres of Toronto, Hamilton and London. A number of his drawings which survive reveal him to be a competent (though not an elegant) draftsman.

In late March of 1894 he became ill from lung inflammation and died on 3 April 1894 leaving an estate of $4300 (obituary in the Weekly Sentinel-Review [Woodstock], 6 April 1894, 1). The Editor is indebted to Mr. George M.H. Douglas of Springbank Consulting Engineers, Woodstock, Ont. for kindly permitting the writer to examine, and to photograph, the original drawings by Cuthbertson & Fowler in his possession. from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

DUNDAS STREET METHODIST CHURCH, Dundas Street at Oxford Street, 1889-90 (Evening Sentinel-Review [Woodstock], 21 March 1889, 1, descrip.; C.A.B., ii, April 1889, 48; dwgs. in the possession of George Douglas, Woodstock)

CURRIE’S CROSSING, ONT., Methodist Church, 1891 (American Contractor [Chicago], xii, 6 June 1891, 41; dwgs. in the possession of George Douglas, Woodstock)

CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCH, Riddell Street, reconstruction of the interior, 1891 (C.R., ii, 15 Aug. 1891, 2)

BRIGHT, ONT., Methodist Church, 1892 (Christian Guardian [Toronto], 7 Dec. 1892, 772)

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Leslie Raymond Fairn – Church Architect

Fairn, Leslie Raymond (1875-1971) from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, N.S., St. George’s Methodist Church, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 24 May 1911, 61)

AYLESFORD, N.S., Aylesford Methodist Church, 1917-18 (Morning Herald [Halifax], 11 Jan 1918, 2)

DARTMOUTH, N.S., Grace Methodist Church, 1919 (Morning Herald [Halifax], 14 July 1919, 11, t.c.)

HALIFAX, N.S., Oxford Street Methodist Church, 1920-21 (Morning Herald [Halifax], 16 June 1920, 16, t.c.; C.R., xxxv, 25 May 1921, 54, t.c.)

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Henry Bauld Gordon – Church Architect

Gordon, Henry Bauld (1854-1951) from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

BATHURST STREET METHODIST CHURCH, Bathurst Street at Lennox Street, 1887-88 (Globe [Toronto], 31 Aug. 1887, 3, t.c.)

ZION METHODIST CHURCH, St. Clair Avenue West near Christie Street, 1889-90 (T. Champion, Methodist Churches in Toronto, 1899, 269-70, descrip.; J.R. Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto, 1904, iv, 408-11, descrip.)

EPWORTH METHODIST CHURCH, Christie Street at Yarmouth Road, 1890 (Telegram [Toronto], 2 Aug. 1890, 6, t.c.)

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Edward Elliot – Church Architect

Elliot, Edward (1833-1901) from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

HAMILTON, BERMUDA, Methodist Church, 1881 (Bermuda Pocket Almanack Guide & Directory, 1884, 75-6, descrip.)

LUNENBURG, N.S., Central Methodist Church, Cumberland Street, 1883-85 (Lunenburg Methodist Church – Its History of a Century, 1915, 15)

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Albert Harvey Hills – Church Architect

Hills, Albert Harvey (1816-1878), an early and important Hamilton architect, was the son of a Loyalist family that fled from New England during the War of 1812 and settled at Trois Rivieres, Que. Hills was born there on 5 August 1816 and brought to Hamilton, Ont. the following year by his family. In the late 1830’s he opened a builder’s office with his brother Horace H. Hills, and carried on the trade for several years until 1846 when he began to practice as an architect under his own name, and was ‘…prepared to superintend all kinds of Grecian and Italian Villas, Elizabethan and Swiss cottages, public buildings, and trusts his fifteen years experience will give satisfaction’ (Hamilton Gazette, 25 March 1847, 1, advert. first published 21 Sept. 1846). During his early career he made frequent expeditions to the Canadian northwest but a serious accident during one trip necessitated the amputation of a leg, an event that may be related to the sudden bankruptcy of the Hills company of builders and carpenters in 1848 (British Colonist [Toronto], 28 April 1848, 3). He withdrew from active building and joined the staff of the Great Western Railway in 1853-55, but returned to the profession in 1856 and the following year formed a partnership with the German-born Frederick Kortum in October 1857 (Globe [Toronto], 1 Oct. 1857, 3). Their collaboration was short-lived however, and dissolved in early 1859 (Hamilton Times, 10 Feb. 1859, 2). Shortly after Hills received one of the most important commissions of his career, that for the Hamilton Crystal Palace, an immense glass shed completed the following year and opened by the Prince of Wales in September, 1860. Hills was an adept designer who possessed a sophisticated knowledge of the repetoire of styles which were emerging during the rapid growth of the southern Ontario region in the mid-nineteenth century. It may be claimed that was the first to introduce the ‘full ornamental Gothic’ to commercial architecture in Hamilton with his unique and imposing designs for Carpenter’s new store in 1847. From 1868 he was assisted by his son Lucien Hills who took over the practise in 1876. Hills died in Hamilton on 25 November 1878 and was buried at Hamilton Cemetery (obituary in Spectator [Hamilton], Evening Edition, 26 Nov. 1878, 4; biog. in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, i, 1981, 103; inf. Stephen Otto, Kent Rawson, Toronto) from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

SECOND METHODIST CHURCH, John Street North at Rebecca Street, enlargement, 1858 (Spectator [Hamilton], 23 March 1858, 2, t.c.)

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH, Hughson Street North at Gore Street, 1864-67 (Spectator [Hamilton], 23 Aug. 1864, 2, t.c.; 1 Feb. 1867, 2, descrip.)

CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH, Main Street West near James Street, 1866-68 (Spectator [Hamilton], 3 April 1866, 2, t.c.; 24 Oct. 1868, 2, descrip.; Hamilton Evening Times, 22 Feb. 1868, 3, descrip.)

METHODIST CHURCH, Pearl Street North at Napier Street, 1867 (Hamilton Evening Times, 22 Aug. 1867, 3)

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Harry J. Powell – Church Architect

Powell, Harry J. (1863-1902) of Stratford, Ont. was a remarkably prolific architect whose work can be found in more than thirty towns and cities throughout western Ontario.

Born in England on 31 March 1863 he emigrated to Canada in 1873 and likely trained with Joseph R. Kilburn of Stratford, Ont. When Kilburn died unexpectedly in December 1890, Powell was named his successor, and opened an office in Stratford under his own name.

In the following ten years, he built up a successful practise and by 1898 he had opened branch offices in Chatham (in partnership with W.J. Carswell) and another in Guelph (in partnership with L.C. Wideman). His major works included ecclesiastical, commercial and institutional commissions designed in a robust Romanesque Revival style evident in his buildings such as the Perth County House of Refuge (1896), and the Opera House in Guelph (1893).

In December 1897 he was one of ten competitors who submitted designs for the new City Hall in Stratford, Ont. His proposal received First Prize (C.R., viii, 27 Jan. 1898, 1) and the contract for the construction of his design was awarded, but the local City Council could not obtain a quorum to vote on acceptance of his plan, and the proposal of King & Siddall was chosen.

Undeterred by this event, Powell continued to work until November 1900 when, for uncertain reasons, he left Stratford and moved to Sault Ste. Marie where he took a position with the Clergue Steel Co., perhaps as a company architect. He may be the author of the design for several remarkable industrial buildings erected by the steel baron Francis H. Clergue of the Clergue Co. in 1900-01, and for whom an architect has not been found.

In late 1901 Powell took up the contracting business in Sault Ste. Marie, and died there suddenly on 14 October 1902 at the age of thirty-eight years.

He was buried at Avondale Cemetery in Stratford (obit. Stratford Evening Herald, 14 Oct. 1902, 1; 15 Oct. 1902, 4). A photographic portrait of Powell can be found in National Archives of Canada (PA 072746). One of his students was Hugh G. Holman. from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

WATERLOO STREET METHODIST CHURCH, major additions and alterations, 1891 (Stratford Weekly Herald, 23 Dec. 1891, 5, descrip.)

TILBURY CENTRE, ONT., parsonage for Canada Methodist Church, 1892 (C.R., iii, 23 July 1892, 2)

MILVERTON, ONT., Evangelical Church, 1893 (C.R., iv, 16 Feb. 1893, 1)

BERLIN, ONT., Evangelical Church, 1893 (C.R., iv, 18 May 1893, 1, t.c.)

NORTH EASTHOPE, ONT., Salem Evangelical Church, 1895 (Waterloo County Chronicle, 19 Dec. 1895, 4, descrip.)

WOODSTOCK, ONT., Norwich Avenue Methodist Church, 1899 (C.R., x, 8 March 1899, 2, t.c.)

HARWICH TOWNSHIP, Methodist Church at McKay’s Corners, 1899; demol. (C.R., x, 8 Feb. 1899, 2)

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William A. Joanes – Church Architect

Joanes, William A. (c. 1830-1919) of London, Ontario, was born in England and came to Canada before 1867. He apparently had obtained a working knowledge of building design and construction and this, together with his Methodist background, proved to be of use when, in 1867, he was commissioned to prepare plans for the Methodist Episcopal Church, London, a modest Gothic work replaced by a later, more ambitious design which he provided to that same congregation in 1875. Initially Joanes pursued a career in London as a builder, but from 1875 onward his practice appears to have become exclusively architectural in character, and his name is included in classified listings for architects in the London City Directory until 1910. While not as prolific as his rivals George P. Durand, George Craddock and Fred Henry, a number of ecclesiastical and commercial works were erected to his designs, and he was favoured as an architect of private residences located in the wealthy neighbourhoods of Westminster, Kensington, and London South. Little biographical evidence of his career has survived, and his architectural activities have been reconstructed largely from the numerous tender calls and articles describing his buildings which were published in the London Free Press or in the Daily Advertiser. Few, if any, references to his work can be found after 1905, and he died in London, Ont. on 26 August 1919 (Canada, Census for 1871, Ontario-London, Ward 6, page 6; brief biographical note in London And Its Men of Affairs, c. 1915, 114; obituary in the Daily Advertiser [London], 27 Aug. 1919, 3). from Dictionary of Architects in Canada

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, North Street at Colborne Street, 1867; replaced with new church by Joanes in 1875-76 (Weekly Advertiser [London], 15 Aug. 1867, 3, descrip.; Daily Advertiser [London], 30 Sept. 1875, 1; 1 May 1876, 1, descrip.)

WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH, Pall Mall Street, enlargement and alterations, 1875 (Daily Advertiser [London], 17 Aug. 1875, 1, t.c.)

BIBLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Elizabeth Street at Dundas Street, 1876 (Daily Advertiser [London], 22 May 1876, 1; 11 Sept. 1876, 4, descrip.)

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