A developer wants to tear down the building, known as Elgin Hall, to make way for a subdivision in Mount Elgin, a small hamlet east of London, Ont. On August 9, local residents will ask South West Oxford councilors to save the building from demolition by giving it special heritage designation. “It was built by oxen carrying bricks from a brickyard in London in 1850,” said Garth Turner, a former member of parliament and cabinet minister who has family ties to the house. “It’s very historic. It’s gorgeous, Georgian architecture.” Mt. Elgin Development Inc., along with GSP Group, is proposing to build a 175-lot subdivision in the township, including six new local roads. One of these roads would run through the Elgin Hall property. “When I realized it was going to be demolished, oh my gosh, it was heartbreaking,” Turner said. Garth Turner in 1953 in the living room of Elgin Hall. Turner’s great-grandfather, Ebenezer Vining Bodwell, was the first owner of the house and the first MP for South Oxford. (Submitted by Debbie Kasman) The house was first built for Turner’s great-grandfather, Ebenezer Vining Bodwell, who was the first MP for South Oxford in John A. Macdonald’s government and also the overseer of the Welland Canal from 1875-1879. Turner, an investment consultant who has worked to save heritage buildings in the past, offered to buy the property from the developer but was turned down, he said. “It’s steeped in Canadian history,” said Turner, whose mother was born in the house and married on the front lawn. “It’s definitely part of the evolving heritage and creation and birth and infrastructure of early Canada. I think it should be preserved.” Elgin Hall was built for Ebenezer Vining Bodwell in 1850. He was the first MP for South Oxford. (Submitted by Debbie Kasman)
“Crime against history”
“It seems to me that an enlightened developer would take a beautiful old historic landmark and incorporate it into a new subdivision,” Turner said. “Maybe as a community center, maybe as a restaurant, but the main thing is not to knock the thing down and turn it into an access road.” “I think it’s a crime against history.” CBC News contacted Chris Pigeon with GSP Group, the listing agent for the subdivision proposal, but he declined to comment on any efforts to save Elgin Hall. “It’s a big yellow brick house, which I actually kind of accept, but there are a number of other yellow brick houses of probably the same vintage in the community,” said Southwest Oxford Mayor David Mayberry. “We see old houses, barns, being moved out somewhat regularly as a building is created that serves a more current need,” he said. “Does the community really want this and to what extent are they willing to invest either directly or indirectly in it? In a small village in southwestern Ontario, on Mount Elgin, is my family’s former home, Elgin Hall. A 170-year-old brick Georgian house with historic significance, and in little more than a week, may go through approval to be bulldozed to make way for a road to connect two subdivisions. 1/7 pic.twitter.com/1dfH2vfPUl —@DrSarahMcLean It’s up to the city council to decide if the house is in good enough shape to be saved, said Ward 3 Coun. Valerie Durston. “Am I willing to save it? It’s not up to me,” she said. “We’ll see what happens. It’s definitely up in the air at this point.” London Morning6:52 Should progress be made at the expense of history? London Morning spoke to investment adviser Garth Turner to find out why he is trying to stop a developer from tearing down a two-storey yellow brick building in Mt Elgin.
