What are London Doorways? A new book about London, Ontario's unique entranceway

ACO London has produced another attractive and informative book about London, Ontario architecture. It's called London Doorways: An Expanded Study of Triple-Arched Doorways. "Expanded" because ACO published a smaller book on the subject in 2014 but people kept finding more doorways. Now there's a 127 page deluxe version filled with colour photos, b&w maps and diagrams, brief tributes to late doorway researchers Herb Craig and Julia Beck, a study of the Italianate and Gothic Revival background, and a bibliography, glossary and location index. 

If you're wondering what the heck a London doorway is, just look at the book cover (left). Its characteristics include three wooden-arched members that are part of the door's jamb and frame. The centre rounded transom arch spans the width of the door and the sidelights are separately arched but at a lesser height. They were built over 125 years ago by skilled craftsmen, no two being exactly alike. Architectural historians could explain in more detail (and the book does) but that's it in a nutshell. 

Why are these called London doorways? Because most of them are located in the older neighbourhoods of London, Ontario as well as on suburban roads that were rural in the 19th century. A few are found in the surrounding countryside, in communities like Strathroy, Ailsa Craig, St. Thomas or Thamesford. There's one as far away as Mildmay and one in Arthur. 

It's difficult to say who built them. They appear to have been created by multiple craftsmen, which explains all the variations. Historical research has identified some original owners of the houses who were connected to London's construction trade. Names include Thomas Scott, a cabinetmaker, Jeremiah Moran, and Richard and Thomas Ward. 

Most of the book consists of attractive colour photos of the doors and the houses that contain them, along with brief histories of the homes and their first owners. You might want to keep the book in your car so you can check out lovely doorways while you're out running errands. 

What the book highlights, of course, is the importance of preserving older local architecture. You won't find these doorways outside of southwestern Ontario. They're ours. 

London Doorways may be purchased through ACO London or at Attic Books. Cost is $50.

So ACO, what's next? Keyhole windows?

100 Stanley Street: Make an offer to the City of London, Ontario. Fast.

Here it is. 100 Stanley Street at the corner of Wharncliffe Road South. A white brick Queen Anne house built about 1896, with a keyhole window on the main level and a rectangular oriel window on the second floor. The oriel has a small bracket detail above and rests on a decorated wooden sill. There's coloured glass in the windows. And there's lovely interior woodwork, such as a newel post shaped like a King chess piece.

Yes, it's a bit difficult to see, the garden having become a jungle. Some would even say the foliage obstructs views at the intersection.

Nancy Finlayson lived here for decades, about thirty years in total. Her home was designated by the city in 2010. It stands on Stanley Street, at one time the main road out of the city to Port Stanley. 

But in 2017 the public learned that the city was considering demolishing her home, expropriating the land to widen Wharncliffe Road and repair the nearby railroad overpass. The road widening was necessary, the city argued, to remove the traffic bottleneck, prevent congestion and collisions. 

But Feisty Nan fought The Plan. And she wasn't the only one. Others in the city raised petitions on her behalf and staged demonstrations on the corner. The city was starting to look bad. Who tosses an old lady out of her home just to widen a road?

In 2018 the City of London indicated it was not without sympathy (or realized it looked nasty) and stated they were willing to spend an extra half million dollars to move 100 Stanley to a lot on a nearby street,  admittedly an accommodation most cities wouldn't bother with. Relocating her home was a way to save it from the wrecking ball and keep it within its own historic neighbourhood. And it would only cost $500,000 to cover the bill to move the house about 100 metres. 

Yet when the city offered to move her lovely home to the corner of Wharncliffe and Evergreen, Nan argued it would take the house out of its context onto a bare, treeless lot. She insisted she wouldn't move.

In January 2020 London City Council voted to expropriate her land. As recently as June 2020, Nan said she wouldn't leave. Unfortunately, she was told she needed to get out by October 1. In September, the city reached a settlement with her, offering $500,000 for her home and land. Perhaps she realized she couldn't "beat City Hall." She has moved to a home in Blackfriars. 

Yet despite the sale of the land and house, the city continued to consider moving the home, probably due to pressure from conservation groups such as ACO London. But in early 2021, city engineers suddenly estimated the relocation cost at $900,000 - $1,100,000 and, at this point, some on City Council decided the cost was too much.

On March 23, City Council narrowly voted to demolish the building. (I haven't heard how much that will cost.) The road widening is expected to begin either later in 2021 or 2022. Total cost: $39 million. Of which the cost of moving 100 Stanley was merely a proverbial drop in the bucket. 

One could argue that the city put poor Nan through a nightmare. A lady in her late seventies, kicked out of the home she loved. Anyone with an ounce of sympathy would be on her side. And her house had numerous interesting features, being particularly well preserved. I was "House Captain" in 2009 when her home was included on ACO London's 36th Annual Geranium Heritage House Tour. I remember Nan saying of her home "I love you." If it was my place, I'd love it too. It was particularly well preserved. And now, what she'll remember for the rest of her life was her desperate fight to save it.

But if I'd been her, I'd have let the city move the house. Just think of the advantages: a safer, less busy location; a new basement; new landscaping; the lovely home itself saved for future generations. Londoners in the 2090s might have been able to see a well-preserved home from 200 years earlier. 

I know what some will say. She impeded progress. She's only an attention seeker. She got a great price for her home so why complain. There's lots of old houses so why care about this one. The intersection is a bottleneck and needs to be widened.  Certainly the comments about the former owner posted online have been cruel indeed. Apparently there are some very nasty people out there, posting anonymously at the end of internet news stories. 

But let's for a minute pretend we live in an Ideal Heritage World. In that world an infrastructure change wouldn't adversely affect cultural heritage resources. Our cultural heritage would  be preserved in situ, there would be no expropriation, no demolition of municipally designated properties. We wouldn't be widening roads to make room for more cars. We'd be trying to find ways to get  people out of their cars, via car pooling, public transportation, bicycles, walkways, better planned neighbourhoods, etc. 

We don't live in that world yet. So here's my suggestion. The City of London should sell 100 Stanley for $1 to anyone who can move it. And forget about that high price tag for moving. ACO London has received two estimates suggesting it wouldn't cost more than $500,000 to move the house. Seriously. And surely selling the home would cost the city less than demolition. 

Just contact the city fast. Before 100 Stanley becomes another victim of Progress.