Abandoned High Victorian Mansion 1880

Exploring an Abandoned High Victorian Mansion Built in 1880

This now abandoned High Victorian Mansion is a two storey red brick residence was constructed by a local farmer in 1880 The property was designated for its heritage value under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1997

Demonstrating the High Victorian taste for mixing architectural styles, the central tower and round and segmental arches are Italianate features, and the bargeboard on the gables are reflective of Gothic Revival style.

The roofline is a major feature with its decorated gables, central tower with mansard roof, paired brick chimneys, wood cresting and fan-shaped finials. There are also a variety of window forms: bay windows, a French window, narrow paired windows, larger single windows, longer slender windows, and porthole dormer windows in the tower’s roof. Mixed together these different architecture styles create a unique display of wealth.

This now abandoned Victorian Mansion was last lived in sometime around the early 2000’s. In 2003 it was on the real estate market for $1.2 Million dollars and ended up selling far below asking for $790,000 in 2004.

I first stumbled upon this house in 2012 while scouting for other abandoned places, I stopped to take some exterior photos and noticed that there were people coming and going, it seemed to have been a business now rather than a residence. Over the years this home had been on my mind and I often wondered what would become of it. On a day of exploring I drove by and decided to stop and get some drone footage of the home, I pulled into the driveway and knocked on the door to ask permission to fly my drone over the house – but I could see in the windows that the home was empty.

Trying a couple of other doors to knock again just in case, it quickly became obvious that this home is now vacant and empty, also a knock on one door caused the door to open. Calling out to see if anyone was inside – I was met with silence.

Unfortunately, the inside of the home has been far too sanitized and modernized and much of its old Victorian charm is gone. The tower, accessible by a hatch in the 2nd floor ceiling is locked with a padlock so I won’t be climbing up there. After getting home and looking at my drone footage, it was noted that a roof hatch was open, this would have been accessible by climbing into the attic, and would also require me to go get a ladder..all too much effort that I wasn’t interested in.

On of the most interesting things, in my opinion is the old brick bar in the basement, clearly not used for a very long time but you can see that at one time, this basement room was great for entertaining at one time.

I am glad to know that I can finally stop wondering what this home looks like inside and that I’ve had the opportunity to explore it and photograph it. I just hope that whomever owns this property can manage to do something with it, and not let it rot and deteriorate! Now, on to the photos!