Notice of intention to designate 1110 Lakeshore Road West

On December 9, 2024, 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:

Baillie Estate Farm Manager’s Cottage
1110 Lakeshore Road West
Lot 1, Plan 20M651, Oakville

Description of property

The subject property is located on the south side of Lakeshore Road West between Westdale Road and Wilder Drive. The property contains a one-storey frame cottage structure built in 1926 and known as the Baillie Estate Farm Manager’s Cottage.

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

Design and physical value

The Baillie Estate Farm Manager’s Cottage has cultural heritage value for its c.1926 cottage built in the Arts & Crafts style and designed by Page & Warrington. As a reaction to the mechanization and dehumanization of the Industrial Age, the Arts & Crafts style attempted to reconnect people to nature and to the handmade. The Farm Manager’s Cottage is a humble yet eloquent example of the Arts & Crafts style. It was constructed using local, natural materials including stained wood shingles and Credit Valley stone taken from the nearby ravine. The low-sloped roof, tapered stone piers on the corners and natural wood windows and trim work connect the building to its natural surroundings. The cottage displays early 20th century craftsmanship that is visible in the stone piers, stone chimneys and multi-paned wood windows.

Historical and associative value

The Baillie Estate Farm Manager’s Cottage has cultural heritage value for its direct associations with the Baillie family who built the structure as part of Lisonally Farm, the family estate. Lady Edith Baillie was a well-respected philanthropist who redeveloped the summer estate as a farm after the death of her financier and industrialist husband Sir Frank Baillie in 1921. Rather than focusing on making an income, the Baillies’ approach was to donate the produce and income to local hospitals, institutions and charities. The cottage is the only remaining structure from Lisonally Farm and contributes to an understanding of the farm and of other prosperous country estates and farms constructed during this era along the lakeshore in Oakville. The property is also directly associated with Page & Warrington, a prominent Toronto firm that designed a number of Arts & Crafts style homes in Toronto’s elite residential neighbourhoods like Forest Hill and Rosedale. 

Contextual value

The Baillie Estate Farm Manager’s Cottage has contextual value as one of the last remnants of the former Lisonally Farm. The property is physically, visually and historically linked with Lakeshore Road West and the former entrance to the estate that was once in this location. For the past century, the property has been a well-known site along Lakeshore Road, a significant and historic road along Lake Ontario that has been the primary access to the town’s historic lakefront estates. The property helps to maintain and support the character of this established residential neighbourhood.

Description of heritage attributes

Key attributes of the property which embody the cultural heritage value of the Baillie Estate Farm Manager’s Cottage include the following attributes, as they relate to the original one-storey building, include its:

• Rectangular form with low-sloped hip roof with deep eaves;
• Four tapered stone piers, exposed stone foundation, and two stone chimneys constructed of Credit Valley stone laid in regular courses with a quarry cut face;
• Wood shingle cladding;
• Fenestration of the front (north) elevation;
• Two sets of multi-paned wood windows with wood trim on the front (north) elevation; 
• One set of multi-paned wood windows with wood trim located on the northerly end of the east elevation;
• Wood front door with wood trim on north elevation; and
• Proximity to Lakeshore Road West, near the former entrance to Lisonally Farm.

Any objection to this designation must be filed no later than January 15, 2025.  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 December 16, 2024.