The Woodfield area was named after the home of Anglican Bishop Benjamin Cronyn (1802-71), an attractive residence torn down in the 1960s. The neighbourhood was founded in mid-nineteenth century and had a wide social cross-section from the beginning. The result is a wide variety of house styles and sizes from mansion to cottage.
Back in 2021 I decided to go for a walk in west Woodfield. No particular reason why, other than that, if you like old buildings, Woodfield is one of the best places to be. I took pictures that day but forgot about them for a while (oops) and just recently found them. So here's a few pics of buildings in west Woodfield, one of London's most interesting neighbourhoods, historically and architecturally.
504 Waterloo: Older London homes have a distinctive asset in the infilling of their gables with diversely patterned wood. This late Victorian, built about 1894, is one of those. Note the console-like extensions framing the gable and the stone arch over the window.
496 Waterloo - One of the loveliest Queen Anne homes in the city - at least until what the Fire Department called a "substantial" blaze in its attic in 2023. Glad I took a photo before the fire. As you can see from
these photos, the trim was once white. Although renovated, this 1893 house still has its nice arched windows on the south side and tower, a lovely corner verandah, and a cute balcony in the attic storey on the left.
484 Waterloo: I'm also fond of the house below, now converted into offices. While the windows are replacements (there weren't panes of glass this size ca. 1875-80 when the home was built) at least we still have the beautiful verandah, the matching columns above and below, the mouldings above the windows, and the paired brackets under the wide overhang of the hipped roof. The second floor balcony has been enclosed as a sleeping porch. It has a door, so at one time one could step out onto a balcony, the balustrade of which has been removed.
455 Waterloo: I do love a tower and this home is almost all tower. Bonus: a deep cornice with bas-relief ornamentation. Would have looked even better in the Edwardian era, when there wouldn't have been a highrise in the background. Oh well.
469 and 471 Waterloo: Two buildings here. First, note 469 Waterloo on the left. Allan Komenda and Valerii Oleksiienko won a London Heritage Award in 2020 for the restoration of this Italianate home. Next door is the gorgeous early 20th-century home built for cigar manufacturer R. D. McDonald, now occupied by Global Warranty. Note the ornate roof line and south wall gable with a Palladian window variation. At front is a curved two-storey bay with curved glass windows and stone window headings in an interesting pattern. Neo-Classical design is seen in details like the pediment, columns with Corinthian-style capitals, and matching smaller columns supporting the second-floor porch. This Edwardian-era mansion, designed by London architect John Moore, makes the decent-sized Italianate from a couple of decades earlier look small.
477 Waterloo: OK, so foliage makes this Regency style cottage a little difficult to see. But you can make out the most interesting parts: the Doric-style columns, gently curved porch roof, and - best of all - a triple-arched London Doorway. This ca. 1878 home was designed by another London architect, William Robinson, for the crockery importer Nathaniel Reid. Later members of the Carling and Gibbons family lived here.
483 Colborne: Another nice house here but the best part is the stone insert under the upper window on the north side. Do you see the foliage face looking at you? It appears to be a variation of the Green Man, a sort of forest god representing the birth-death-rebirth cycle of the natural year.
484 Colborne: Ignore the newer roof and updated balcony railing and focus on the unusual cornice on this Italianate. Nice verandah too.
504 Colborne: The house built for Alexander McBride ca. 1872 isn't quite as unchanged as I'd like it to be. It has newer windows, for example. But it also has some interesting original features, like a cornice extended at the corners, a broken pediment with a bull's eye window, a slightly projecting central bay, and brick quoins. The stone headings over the arched windows and door are a nice touch. And yes, that is another London Doorway.
518 Dufferin: Just a lovely 1 1/2 storey residence built 1876. Nice bargeboard in the gable and stained glass transoms over the windows and door.
22 Peter: One of the loveliest homes in Woodfield, still covered in clapboard and possessing an arched window in its gable. Note the blue plaque to the right of the door, meaning this beautiful property is designated by the City of London. Built ca. 1870, this looks like the typical Ontario farmhouse. But it wasn't built for a farmer; the first occupant was Oran Benson, a melodeon maker.
518 Queens: Wow. This is different. But then it's at the corner of Queens Avenue, where many wealthy people built their mansions in the 1800s. The mansard-roofed Second Empire style was never popular in London and was always more popular in the US than Canada. But this 1874 residence, converted into a retirement home, was just the thing for oil millionaire James Duffield, who of course wanted to show off his good taste. Notice the variety of mouldings over the windows: curved stone on the first and second floors and elliptical or pedimental over the dormers.
534 Queens: Another Second Empire, much changed from when it was a private residence. But note the fish scale pattern on the slate roof.
533 Queens: The Bullen house, ca. 1875, has updated windows but I've seen worse. What's interesting about this place is how tall it appears, the steeply-pitched roof adding to its vertical look. Imposing.
513 Queens: A lovely Queen Anne ca. 1887. Yellow brick with red brick trim. Deep cornice. Fancy gable. And, Holy Smoke, what a massive chimney. I guess that verandah was added later, since it cuts right through a window on the side. And that's a door at top left, so there must once have been a balcony.
Dundas Street Centre United Church: Built 1896 in the Romanesque Revival style. Massive.
410, 408 and 400 Queens: A nice Edwardian streetscape, designed by John Moore in the red brick that had become popular by early 20th century. At one time you would have been able to look between these buildings and catch a glimpse of the gorgeous Mocha Temple behind them. Unfortunately, someone had the idea of adding a Tudoresque bridge thing between the buildings, blocking the view. Oh well, you can walk around the corner to see the M.T. if you want to. I don't have a photo so apparently I didn't.
496 Colborne: Nice 1 1/2 storey Victorian. Note the attractive arched windows and all those paired brackets under the wide overhang.
South side of the same building. More brackets, including baby versions on the projecting bay window.
380 Queens: An enormous Edwardian mansion, complete with Palladian window up in the gable.
360 Queens: Wow. Romanesque Revival here with those heavy arches. Gorgeous tower. More Palladian windows up in the gables.
What's also nice to see is the plaque out front, identifying the former owner, Charles W. Leonard, as well as the current tenants:
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church: Designed by architect William Robinson and built in 1869 in the Gothic tradition. An inspirational spire, imposing entrance, high stone foundation with arched window openings, and interesting brick work under the eaves make this one of London's most attractive churches.
And there's its manse right next door, built only a few years later. Looks neoclassical with that bas relief in the pediment. Nice mouldings over the windows, including that rounded one in the centre.
Whew, what a long walk.
