spring 2009 - Heritage London Foundation

Communiqué
...Heritage London Foundation
SPRING 2009
www.heritagelondonfoundation.org
Chairman’s Message
Upcoming Events
Greetings everyone.
As we approach our Annual General Meeting, to be held at Grosvenor Lodge
this year, I have been reflecting on the activities of the past year and I feel
that the organization has done extremely well. We tried some different
ideas which were successful in introducing many new people to our two
wonderful venues, Elsie Perrin Williams Estate and Grosvenor Lodge, and
therefore to part of London’s finest built heritage. The hospitality side
of our business, using the properties we manage for business meetings,
celebrations, weddings and receptions, and the rental of office space
at Grosvenor Lodge, provide an excellent example of adaptive re-use.
As did many organizations, we faced difficulties over the past year, with
increased maintenance, utilities and staffing costs at the same time as the
economy slipped into the challenging times we are now experiencing. We
are confident that our business will be strong based on the bookings we
have been taking over the past couple of months and trust that we will
survive the downturn in reasonable shape.
I encourage you to continue your needed support of Heritage London
Foundation with your charitable donations and your membership in
the organization. It is through your generous help that we are able to
participate in worthwhile projects such as the annual ACO-HLF Heritage
Awards. This year nine awards were presented. They were given to a very
deserving heritage proponent, Julia Beck and to eight diverse restoration
and adaptive re-use projects. Please see the details elsewhere in this
edition of the newsletter.
I am especially looking forward to meeting you at our Annual General
meeting, being held this year at Grosvenor Lodge on Monday March 16,
at 3:00 p.m. As part of the regular business portion of the meeting, we
will acknowledge the service of retiring board members and in particular
this year the substantial and enduring leadership provided by Ruth Drake
Alloway.
Our guest speaker at the AGM is Alan Cohen, Chair of London Heritage
Council. You may remember that the council was formed last year to
become the resource for the heritage sector in London. Its goal is to
provide education, resources and
consultation to individuals and
organizations across the breadth
of the sector, including those which
address culture, history, natural
and built heritage. Alan’s topic is
“Heritage: the Future of the Past”.
He will discuss the way that our
heritage and culture define us as a
community and the important role
this plays in the way we will grow and
develop as a maturing metropolis in
South Western Ontario.
Hoping to see you soon,
John Manness
President and Chair
Heritage London Foundation
John Manness & Angel Peterson at
the Recent 60’s Dance
Elsie Perrin Williams Estate
Our first indoor/
outdoor
Spring Bridal Open
House
May 2 and 3 2009
12:00pm- 4:00 pm
“Gatsby Gala”
July 15, 2009
Murder Mystery
Dinner
November 6, 7
and 8, 2009
New this year at Grosvenor
Lodge
“History of
Halloween”- A
Haunting Event
October 29th and
30th 2009
Please Phone 519-432-6620
or
519-645-2845 for more
information
Second Annual Heritage Awards
The Gala Reception was attended by even more people than
last year and there was a delightfully crowded atmosphere
as guests mingled in the
Hodder room and partook
of wine and finger food prior
to proceeding into the Drake
room for the ceremony.
The evening was chaired by
John Manness, Chair of the
HLF with the able assistance
of Marlyn Loft of the ACO.
Councillor
Judy
Bryant
brought greetings on behalf
of the City of London and
then the several nominators
introduced each winner by
reading out their citation.
All agreed that the ceremony
was well run and that all the nominations and acceptance
speeches were short and lively so that there were no Oscar
type meanderings that left the audience nodding in their
seats. Guests stayed afterwards to chat and for the winners
to receive congratulations from friends and supporters.
The wide variety of projects was commented on by Judy
Bryant. These went from modest family homes to large
mansions, from a small clubhouse to a former public school
building and to residential houses converted into use as
school. It was a delight to have children from the Montessori
House of Children present, so that, as we look to the future
of heritage preservation we have hopes that there will be
those around to carry the torch.
Thanks go the joint ACO-HLF Awards Committee. Shirley
Gladwell (ACO) John Manness (HLF) Marlyn Loft (ACO)
Janet Hunten (ACO) Genet Hodder (HLF) Anne McKillop
(ACO) and Susan Bentley (HLF) for organizing a great
event. And thanks go to Jan Dickinson and Eva Lambkin at
Grosvenor Lodge for staying late and dispensing our famous
hospitality.PEOPLE: Providing Education, Awareness, Advocacy
Julia Beck – For outstanding contributions to the preservation
of London’s Built Heritage. Her leadership as president of
the Provincial ACO, in publishing and in designing a series
of successful house tours, has led to greater awareness of
the importance of our built heritage.
PROJECTS: Preserving Built Heritage
The Roy McKay Clubhouse at Labatt Memorial Park
- The Corporation of the
City of London and the
Friends of Labatt Park
for the Outstanding
Contribution made to
the preservation of
London’s built heritage.
By the restoration of
the clubhouse they
have contributed to
the preservation of
an important part of
London’s history.
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Kenross House – 336 Piccadilly Street - Natalie and
Timothy
Tattersall
for the outstanding
contribution made to
the preservation of
London’s built heritage
by the extensive and
sensitive restoration
of Kenross House.
By undertaking this
restoration they have
helped to preserve
one
of
London’s
landmark
historic
homes and get a
remarkable example for others.
707, 709, 711, 718 & 742 Waterloo Street - Ann Marie
Harding – Montessori
House of Children
for the outstanding
contribution made
to the preservation
of London’s built
heritage
by
the
adaptive re-use of
these Waterloo Street
houses and retention
of a significant Old
North Streetscape
.
Woodholme and
Scott Farmhouse
– Sifton Properties
Ltd.
For
the
contribution made
to the preservation
of
the
Scott
Farmhouse
and
their
undertaking
to preserve historic
Woodholme within
a new development,
has
helped
to
preserve two of London’s outstanding historic homes and
has set an encouraging example to others.
798 Queens Avenue - Angela Rivard and Jamie Tedesco
for the outstanding contribution made to the preservation
of London’s built
heritage.
By
the
imaginative
restoration of this
home
and
with
other preservation
projects, they have
had a significant
impact
on
the
revitalization of Old
East Village.
802 Queens Avenue – Maria and Leo
Parra for the outstanding contribution
made to the
preservation
of
London’s
built heritage.
By
the
imagination
restoration
of this home
and with other
preservation
projects, they
have had a
significant
impact on the
revitalization of Old East Village
H a y m a n
House
–
869 Dundas
Street
–
O n t a r i o
D e n t a l
Assistants
Association
for
the
outstanding
contribution
made to the
preservation
of London’s built heritage. By the
restoration and adaptive re-use of
Hayman House, they have helped to
preserve a vital part of the Dundas
Street East Streetscape.
Broughdale Hall – King’s University
College for the outstanding contribution
made to the preservation of London’s
built heritage.
By the restoration
and adaptive re-use of the former
Heritage London Foundation
101 Windermere Road West
London, ON N6G 2C4
519-432-7961
www.heritagelondonfoundation.org
The Properties
Broughdale School, built c1920, they
have preserved a significant part of
local history.
The Algonquin College Heritage
Institute is located in the
historical town of Perth and was
recognized for its contribution
to the preservation of the town’s
heritage. The Institute offers
two programs that are perfectly
suited to the Institute’s heritage
location.
•
The two-year Carpentry and Millwork diploma program combines new construction technology with traditional
carpentry techniques. Students
study historical Canadian architecture, construction methods
and preservation technique.
•
The forty-five week
Masonry –Heritage and Traditional diploma program provides an introduction to the
many areas of the masonry
industry, from new residential and commercial construction to the demanding field of
heritage restoration. Students
gain insight into Canadian architectural history and learn
restoration concepts that they
will need on job site.
Graduates of both programs are in
demand for their skills, particularly in
Ottawa where ongoing restoration of
capital buildings is funded by the federal government
The ACO London Region Branch
supports these programs by offering
a scholarship each year to a student
from the London area that is enrolled
in the Heritage Institute. This year the
Heritage Trades Award was presented
to Kenneth Davies who is enrolled in
the Masonry-Heritage and Traditional
program.
Elsie Perrin Williams Estate
101 Windermere Road West
London, ON N6G 2C4
519-432-6620
www.elsieperrinwilliamsestate.com
Estates Manager Report
These last few months have been quite
busy for us at Grosvenor Lodge and
Elsie Perrin Williams Estate. First of all
we would like to welcome our newest
tenant to the Lodge, Morrison Reid. We
are thrilled to have him join our little
family.
Since our last newsletter we have held
a few events that proved to be very
successful.
In December we had our Christmas
OPEN HOUSE for our neighbours to
come out and visit the Estate. We were
quite impressed with the turn-out for
the first year. With any luck, next year
will be twice the success.
Also at the Estate, we held a Swinging
60’s Dance on February 13, 2009. We
were blown away with the response
and were sold out by the day before
the event! It was a fun-filled evening
of friends and dancing and even
singing, as, with those fabulous sixties
favourites everyone knew all the words
and sang as they danced. We are very
much looking forward to next year
already. We wish to say a special thanks
to Angelo’s for donating the food for the
evening, to Music Central for providing
the wonderful music, and to all who
donated the many prizes.
Grosvenor Lodge hosted the Second
Annual ACO/HLF awards night in
February ( more on that elsewhere in
the newsletter). The evening was a
great success thanks to all the planning
done by the joint committee.
As for other news, weekends are
booking up quickly for 2009 weddings
at both locations, and 2010 is filling up
nicely too.
At Grosvenor Lodge we have a new
exciting addition to the wedding
experience. Our newest team member,
Eva Lambkin, has transformed our
Library into a beautiful office and
meeting area, as well as a comfortable
dressing room for our guests to get
ready for their big day. This makes
another great reason for booking your
special event at the lovely Lodge.
We hope to see everyone out at our
upcoming events, a list of which can
be found on the front page of this
newsletter.
Grosvenor Lodge
1017 Westerm Road
London, ON N6G 1G5
519-645-2845
www.grosvenorlodge.com
Jan Dickinson: Estates Manager
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Membership Report
Dear Friend of Heritage,
Once again it is time to ask you to send
in your renewal of membership in the
Heritage London Foundation and to
invite you to attend the Annual General
Meeting scheduled for Monday March 16th
at 3p.m at Grosvenor Lodge, (you can
always bring the membership form and
your payment with you to the meeting if
that more convenient). This year’s guest
speaker is Alan Cohen, chair of the London
Heritage Council. His topic is “Heritage:
The Future of the Past”. We will also
highlight this year’s “Buildings on the
Brink” which will include a retrospective on
properties listed in prior years and what’s
happened to them. Light refreshments
will be served.
As you are no doubt aware, we rely heavily
on the contributions of our members and
donors like yourself in order to enhance
the facilities and the programmes that we
offer, both at Grosvenor Lodge and the
Elsie Perrin Williams Estate. Your gifts
enable us to be proactive in other efforts
of preservation in our city. We ask for
any help that you can give us. Please note
that there is a space on the membership
form for additional donations. We have
recently spent over $20,000 refurbishing
the house at the Elsie Perrin Williams
estate, and have a campaign underway
to raise funds to construct a gazebo at
EPWE which is to resemble the one that
used to grace the grounds in Elsie’s day.
We hope very much that you will continue
to support the Foundation in any way you
can, and particularly encourage you to
attend our annual summer fundraiser,
the “Gatsby Gala” event at the Elsie
Perrin Williams Estate on July 15th.
After five successful croquet parties,
and the coaching of members from
Croquet Canada we are becoming expert
players, but we can always do with more
competition!! We do hope you will join
us this year for another romantic and
memorable evening on the grounds of
the estate. We look forward to receiving
your renewal and to seeing you at the
AGM.
Property Committee Report
At Elsie Perrin Williams Estate last
spring’s refurbishments to parts of the
house under Jane Ebb’s guidance, led
to us a comprehensive tour and review
of the two properties. The committee
looked at all areas that needed
addressing, be it outside maintenance
or interior enhancements.
We
indentified numerous tasks that should
be carried out in order to make the
two houses look more gracious, more
elegant, and ultimately more desirable
as places to rent for special events.
Some of the smaller tasks are already
complete and we thank Jan Dickinson
and Krista Boulter for their enthusiasm
in following up on suggestions made by
the committee at the EPWE. As you
know, we are constantly facing a real
lack of funds, so we do all we can with
donated items and gifts in kind whether
it be a donated lamp or volunteer time
spent in dusting a room.
We still need to get the upstairs floors
refinished at the Estate and lighting
fixtures are needed in several areas.
The City work crews are at the Estate
as we write, renovating the downstairs
washrooms and rear entrance so as
to make them wheelchair accessible.
This work will take the better part of
three months but is scheduled to be
completed by early June when our peak
period for weddings begins. As soon as
the outside temperature permits, work
will begin on repairs to the roof and to
the eaves-troughs.
The ambition to build a gazebo in the
grounds is still there and we are looking
at ways of getting this built as soon
as we can. It turns out to be a more
expensive proposition than we at first
thought (what isn’t?) so we are hoping
to find some sponsors and donors who
will be entranced by the idea of helping
us with this project! If you know of
anyone in the building industry who
Yours Sincerely,
might like to help we should be glad of
an introduction.
At Grosvenor Lodge there was a short
interruption of warmth in the early part
of the winter as the City installed new
boilers, but they are now working like a
dream and the new thermostats, which
adjust to the outside temperature,
should save us some money on our
heating bills. Our tenants were most
patient during the cold snap when the
Lodge was unheated for a week or so.
Eva Lambkin deserves a nod for her
work on refurbishing the rather messy
and underused library into a splendid
room for research and for meetings
which can also be used as a dressing
room for brides. We are now looking
forward to the Spring and are working
on ways to enhance the gardens. They
need more loving care and attention.
It is our ambition to make the grounds
at Grosvenor a real attraction that will
draw visitors to the property and make
Londoners really proud of it. Volunteers
are always welcome to join the garden
crew. We are also looking for donations
of perennials! Please call the Lodge at
645-2845 if you wish to volunteer.
My last word is one of thanks. To Ruth
Drake-Alloway, my predecessor as Chair
of the Property Committee ( formerly
known as the House Committee) we
all owe an enormous debt of gratitude
for the hours of work, for the love and
devotion you have showered upon the
two houses, for your commitment of
time and money and for your visionary
leadership. I can never hope to fill your
giant shoes, so, barefoot, I attempt to
follow. To Diane Van Kleek we also owe
a huge debt for all her years of faithful
service on this committee. Thank you
both.
Respectfully submitted: Susan Bentley
To receive an email copy of the newsletter please e-mail
Susan Bentley,
Membership Secretary
[email protected]
with a subject line of ‘Subscribe to Newsletter’
Save this date!
Heritage London Foundation’s Annual Meeting
Monday March 16th 2009 at 3:00 p.m.
at Grosvenor Lodge, 1017 Western Road, London
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