Middlesex County Court House (London, Ontario)

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Coordinates: 42°58′55.59″N81°15′15.65″W / 42.9821083°N 81.2543472°W / 42.9821083; -81.2543472 (Middlesex County Court House)

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Contents

Middlesex County Court House
LondonOntarioOldCourtGothic.jpg
Location 399 Ridout Street North
London, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates 42°58′55.59″N81°15′15.65″W / 42.9821083°N 81.2543472°W / 42.9821083; -81.2543472
Area 4 acres (1.6 ha)
Founded 1830
Built 1829
Architect John Ewart of York
Architectural style(s) Gothic Revival
Governing body

Ontario Heritage Trust

Official name Middlesex County Court House National Historic Site of Canada
Designated 1955 [1]
Type Municipal Heritage Designation (Part IV)
Designated November 1980 [2]

The Middlesex County Court House is a historic building and a National Historic Site of Canada in London, Ontario, Canada. [3] [4] [5] The courthouse building is an "early example of the Gothic Revival style, pre-dating the earliest important Gothic Revival public building in England". [3]

National Historic Sites of Canada site of national historic significance in Canada

National Historic Sites of Canada are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks Canada, a federal agency, manages the National Historic Sites program. As of October 2018, there are 987 National Historic Sites, 171 of which are administered by Parks Canada; the remainder are administered or owned by other levels of government or private entities. The sites are located across all ten provinces and three territories, with two sites located in France.

London, Ontario City in Ontario, Canada

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 383,822 according to the 2016 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximately 200 km (120 mi) from both Toronto and Detroit; and about 230 km (140 mi) from Buffalo, New York. The city of London is a separated municipality, politically separate from Middlesex County, though it remains the county seat.

Ontario Province of Canada

Ontario is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province accounting for 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is also Ontario's provincial capital.

Description

The building at 399 Ridout Street North, commonly known as Middlesex County Court House, is situated south of Dundas Street, and north of King Street in the County of Middlesex in the City of London. [2] [4] The three-story parged brick building has castle-like features and Gothic details. The courthouse displays a classical compositional form with a central pavilion and two side wings in the form of prominent octagonal towers at each corner. [1] The courthouse features a stone foundation housing the cell blocks, squared mortar-covered brick walls to give a stone-like appearance, octagonal towers, a polygonal bay, tall lancet windows, secondary square windows and distinctive crenelations. [3]

History

Southwest view of the building Middlesex County Courthouse.jpg
Southwest view of the building

The building was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Toronto architect John Ewart, and constructed from 1827 to 1829. [6] [7] [8] The building, which included the court, jail and police office administrative offices, was constructed from locally quarried stone. [3]

John Ewart was a Canadian architect and businessman.


In 1955, it was designated a National Historic Site because

The exterior of the building and the scenic qualities of the landscape, are protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement. The building is also designated under Part 4 of the Ontario Heritage Act . [1] [2]

<i>Ontario Heritage Act</i> Canadian act

The Ontario Heritage Act, first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage value or interest.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Middlesex County Court House. Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  2. 1 2 3 City of London. "Inventory of Heritage Resources 2006" (PDF). City of London. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Middlesex County Court House National Historic Site of Canada . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  4. 1 2 Middlesex County Court House . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  5. "Middlesex County Courthouse (London), 1827-31". Ontario Heritage Trust. Ontario Heritage Trust.
  6. McKay, Kenneth (1901). The court houses of a century : a brief historical sketch of the court houses of the London District, the County of Middlesex and County of Elgin. St. Thomas, Ont: Elgin historical and scientific institute.
  7. Wies, Jim (1974). Curious histories : tales of the Middlesex County Court House. London: London Public Library and Art Museum.
  8. Pound, Richard W. (2005). 'Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates'. Fitzhenry and Whiteside.