McCaul and Queen, Toronto downtown, Toronto

Five town homes once stood on narrow building lots on the north side of Adelaide Street West and Simcoe Street in what was once the fashionable “Bishop’s Block”. For a brief time around 1836, one of the town homes was occupied by the author Anna Jameson , whose 1838 novel ‘Winter Studies and Summer Ramble in Canada’ chronicled some of her time spent living in downtown Toronto. Until recently, only two of the town homes in the Bishop’s Block remained.

During the summer and fall of 2007, the rear yards of these residences, as well as two of the interiors, were the focus of a mitigative excavation conducted by Archaeological Services Inc.

Preserved under the existing asphalt parking surface was evidence of the evolution of how this space was used between the 1830s and the 1960s. Along with documenting the foundations and basements of the houses, the cisterns, privies, and a coal-burning furnace, thousands of artifacts were recovered. A wide range of activities are represented by children’s toys, writing slates, an exotic coconut husk, smoking pipes and the ubiquitous container glass and ceramics common on domestic archaeological sites. Particularly exciting is the appearance of ceramic wares marked with the brown printed stamp of Glover Harrison’s China Hall business which was located on nearby King Street. The artifact analysis will contribute to our knowledge of daily life in Toronto.

With the archaeological excavation completed and construction on the new Shangri-La Hotel and residences underway, a new chapter in the history of this city block is beginning.

Further info: http://www.toronto.ca/heritage-preservation/bishops_block.htm
http://spacing.ca/wire/?p=2761

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