Public Notice

IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT

R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND

CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

328 BELLAMY ROAD NORTH

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE THE PROPERTY

TAKE NOTICE that Council for the City of Toronto intends to designate the property, including the lands, buildings and structures thereon known municipally as 328 Bellamey Road North under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18, as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest.

Reasons for Designation

The subject property at 328 Bellamy Road North is located on the west side of Bellamy Road North, south of Lawrence Avenue East, within the Golfdale-Cedarbrae-Woburn neighbourhood of Scarborough. Constructed in 1867, the property contains a two-and-a-half-storey bank style farmhouse, with later additions constructed in 1959 and 1983. The subject property served as a residence prior to its conversion into a community space related to the Bendale Bible Chapel, which it continues to serve as today.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

Design and Physical Value

The property at 328 Bellamy Road North has design and physical value as a representative example of a farmhouse constructed in the bank style. The bank style of architecture was a vernacular form of rural construction that was adapted for both residential and agricultural purposes. Bank barns and homesteads are present throughout Europe, including the United Kingdom from where many settlers within Upper Canada immigrated from, and would have brought local vernacular variations to Canada and the United States. Whether applied to a residence or barn, the bank style is readily identified by the structure being built into a slope, or embankment, allowing direct ground-level access to both the lower and second floors. A third floor accessed via internal circulation, may be present. 328 Bellamy Road North is an excellent representative example of a bank style residence, with the second floor accessed on the primary (north) façade, and the lower floor accessed from the south façade facing towards West Highland Creek. From the north, the structure presents as a vernacular side gable Ontario cottage with symmetrical façade, while from the south it presents as a larger agricultural building reflecting the historic use of the house for both residential and agricultural purposes.

Historical and Associative Value

The property at 328 Bellamy Road North has historical and associative value due to its association with John Perryman Wheler, a prominent resident within Scarborough Township through the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Wheler purchased the property from King’s College in 1845. Wheler had settled on the property in 1830, marrying Jane Devenish of Scarborough in 1835 and constructing their home in 1867, at which time he was a major figure in Scarborough’s agricultural and political landscape. Wheler was elected to Scarborough Township’s first Council in 1850 and served as Reeve eighteen times between 1851 and 1875 while concurrently operating a highly successful saw and grist mill on the property. Wheler was President of the Reform Association of Scarborough Township and served as the Township's License Inspector for establishments selling alcohol. Wheler died in 1883, and the property was sold in 1889, however the Wheler family continued to reside in Scarborough and was active in local politics, including J.P. Wheler's grandson, A.P. Wheler, who served as Reeve in 1946.

Heritage Attributes

Design and Physical Value

Attributes that contribute to 328 Bellamy Road North being a representative example of the vernacular bank style of architecture:

• The scale, form, and massing of the subject property, containing a detached two-and-a-half-storey house form building built into the embankment on the west side of Bellamy Road North to the north of West Highland Creek.
• The side gable roof, punctured by brick chimneys at either end of the roof ridge and with traces of the historic wood bargeboard on the west gable eaves and the wooden finial at the roof ridge.
• The brick cladding, comprising red brick with buff brick detailing present at the corner quoins and the window surrounds and lintels.
• The rear (south) façade, presenting as two-and-a-half storeys with two door openings on the ground level and a single door opening and multiple window openings above.
• The front (north) façade, presenting as one-and-a-half storeys, with a central entrance and the two window openings on the west side of the entrance.
• The side (west) façade, presenting as two-and-a-half storeys with a door opening on the ground level bound by window openings on either side.
• The embankment which presents a negative slope from north to south and is visible on the west façade.

Notice of Objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate

Notice of an objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property may be served on the City Clerk, Attention: Registrar Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor West, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2.; Email: RegistrarCCO@toronto.ca within thirty (30) days of June 26, 2026, which is July 27, 2026. The notice of objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property must set out the reason(s) for the objection and all relevant facts.

Getting Additional Information:

Further information in respect of the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property is available from the City of Toronto at:

https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2026.PH31.17.