Home Community Behind the hedges at St. George’s: The Chapmans

Behind the hedges at St. George’s: The Chapmans

October 23, 2024

126

Daryl Urquhart, series editor

Through the appreciative eyes of we fortunate Ontarians, images abound of iconic, local, buildings, award winning films, and cinematic technical effects that most of us have come to take for granted as part of our conscious world.

Those of us that have been to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) for example, will know the feeling of grandeur and excitement as you drive through the Triumphal arch of the Prince’s Gates (circa 1927) and past the stately Ontario Government building on the exhibition grounds.

The castle like architecture of Havergal College seen on Avenue Road north is another landmark building and of course, south of Bloor on Avenue road, a glance to your right reveals the majestic facade of the Royal Ontario Museum, (circa 1914).

Or, maybe you’ve noticed, just south of the Scotia Bank arena, a stately six story Stone building with Roman Arches on the main floor above which stand 7 giant Stone pillars, topped with a copper, mansard style roof: the Toronto Harbour Commission building built in 1917, was built directly on the old shoreline of Toronto harbour before landfill put it several blocks inland.

It, too, is one of many traditional architectural examples of early Toronto design that created a feeling of stately importance in defining the character of the city. But what do these buildings have to do with Georgina? Read on.

While iconic examples of architecture in Ontario command respect on an international stage, so too do contributions to the film industry. Again with a nod to Georgina.

Those of us who have been around for at least four decades, (I wish it were only four), will remember the original Steve McQueen movie with Fay Dunaway; “The Thomas Crown Affair”, later redone with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. You may also remember the hit TV series; “The Brady Bunch”. Of course all those maturing souls who attended Expo 67 in Montreal will remember the ground breaking technological innovations in the movie “A Place To Stand”, at the Ontario Pavillion, with the famous “Ontari-airi-airi-oh’ song. At home, many mornings spent in front of the TV with children we were entertained by the affable “Mr. Rogers”, who brought laughs, kindness and good old fashioned life lessons into our homes.

Now, you wonder why these films and buildings rate a mention in our local Georgina Post. The answer is to be found behind the hedges in the cemetery of St George’s Church, at Sibbalds Point.

The buildings I’ve mentioned were some but not nearly all of the iconic works of a remarkable local resident whose lakefront estate was just off of Black River Road down towards Virginia. The estate was called Romany Wood and the owner was a gentleman by the name of Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman, the architect who’s mind and hand created the design and whose eyes saw built, of all of the buildings mentioned above.

He was born in 1879 into a prominent Toronto family whose patriarch was in the ice business both in Toronto, at Grenadier pond in High park, and later at Belle Ewart, here on Lake Simcoe(a competitor to the Lake Simcoe Ice Company of Jackson’s Point). Alfred trained in architecture in Paris where his obvious love for the Romanesque and Neo-gothic ( more often known as Beaux-arts) styles you see in his works was fostered. He died in 1949 and is buried at St George’s cemetery, here in Georgina, near his beloved home by the lake.

Next to him now rest his twin sons Francis (2020) and Christopher (2015). The twins, interestingly, were born on opposite sides of midnight differentiating their birthdates. Francis, the elder of the two was an early producer of the much loved TV show Mr. Rogers. He was also an adventurer who sailed on the maiden voyage of the Bluenose II with his brother Christopher. The twins often collaborated on movie productions.

Christopher’s documentary “A Place To Stand” won an Oscar for “Best Live Action Short.” It was the first time a film maker had put several moving picture frames on a single screen. The cinematic effect was not to go unnoticed by actor Steve McQueen and director, Norman Jewison. At McQueen’s insistence it was used in the academy award winning movie; “The Thomas Crown Affair”. Soon after it was prominently featured in the introduction to the “Brady Bunch”. Christopher’s contribution to film technology has become a commonly used effect in innumerable films ever since.

The Chapman family monument indeed marks the resting place of some remarkable souls and an interesting part of our local heritage. The monument can be found in the centre of the Cemetery at St George’s Church, behind the Hedges.