Notice of Intention to Designate - 407 Lakeshore Road East

On October 16, 2023, Oakville Town Council resolved to pass a Notice of Intention to Designate the following property under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value and interest:

Warcup House
407 Lakeshore Road East
Part Lot 249, Plan 113; Town of Oakville
 

Description of Property

The property at 407 Lakeshore Road East is located on the north side of Lakeshore Road East, between Douglas and Watson Avenues in the Brantwood neighbourhood. The property contains a 1908 two-and-a-half-storey brick house.

 

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

 

Design and Physical Value

The subject house has design and physical value as a representative example of Edwardian Classicism architecture with Queen Anne design features. The house was built in 1908 with Edwardian elements such as: square massing; red brick cladding; front verandah; hipped roof; columns on piers (in this case, made of wood) on the front porch; and projecting front. It has many Queen Anne features such as: a variety of cladding materials such as brick and wooden fish scale shingles; various window shapes and sizes, particularly the: oriel window on the east elevation, the Palladian and bay window on the upper storey, and the front façade sash and transom window with sidelights and leaded detailing; the wooden window frames; the turret-style bay window shape; the bell-cast shape of the dormers with decorate semi-circular cutouts; the wooden detailing on the oriel window soffit and base and its wooden brackets; and the fenestration on all elevations. Its unique blending of two very different styles creates a house with architectural value.
 

Historical and Associative Value

The home has cultural heritage value for its direct associations with the development of the local residential area known as ‘Brantwood’, and still retains exterior heritage aspects that have lent to the neighbourhood’s character over the last 100 years. Its presence contributes to the story of Oakville’s early 20th century residential development that was defined by large lots with well-designed homes built by well-to-do families. The house is also associated with Isaac and Charlotte Warcup, prominent local business owners in Oakville who had the house constructed. The Warcups owned the local grist mill for 20 years. The mill was in production by 1833 and was a large reason for the Town’s growth, even during Warcup’s ownership in the late 1800s. Another owner of note was Edward Alfred Orr, who was a well-known dairy farmer and politician in Clarkson before retiring to the subject property.  
 

Contextual Value

The subject property has contextual value because it defines, supports and maintains the character of the Brantwood neighbourhood. It is physically, functionally, visually, and historically linked to the surrounding residential neighbourhood and places the Brantwood area’s origins in a specific timeframe. The house was one of the earliest built in the survey and had a place of prominence on the corner. As an anchor point in the Brantwood neighbourhood, this house helps to define the original aesthetic of Brantwood and continues to support and maintain the character of the neighbourhood.

 

Description of Heritage Attributes

Key heritage attributes of the property at 407 Lakeshore Road East that exemplify its cultural heritage value, as they relate to the historic two-and-a-half-storey house, include:

• The footprint and form of the two-and-a-half-storey building with hipped roof and four dormers, including upper bay window with turret roof on south elevation;
• The footprint and form of the one-storey front porch with flat roof;
• Red brick cladding in a running bond pattern, including brick voussoirs over windows and doors;
• Wooden soffits on the house, front porch, oriel window, and side entrance;
• Wooden eaves, corniced returns and fish scale shingles on four dormers;
• Wooden detailing on the oriel window including dentil detailing, frieze, rectangular design on box of the window with wooden panel inlay, and wooden brackets;
• First storey front porch with tapered, rounded wooden columns, wooden piers and low wooden railings with square pickets and posts on both the porch and the balcony;
• Fenestration of all four elevations;
• Wooden Palladian window with leaded glass on the upper storey of the front elevation;
• Wooden fixed and one-over-one sash windows with leaded glass on the first storey of the front elevation;
• The use of one-over-one windows throughout the house (excluding historic windows on front elevation);
• Stone window sills; and
• Brick chimney.

Any objection to this designation must be filed no later than November 17, 2023.  Objections must be directed to the Town Clerk at townclerk@oakville.ca or 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6H 0H3. The objection must include the reasons for the objection and all relevant facts.

Further information respecting this proposed designation is available from the Town of Oakville. Any inquiries may be directed to Carolyn Van Sligtenhorst, Supervisor of Heritage Conservation at 905-845-6601, ext.3875 (TTY 905-338-4200), or by email at carolyn.van@oakville.ca.

Issued at the Town of Oakville on October 18, 2023.