A Merry Olde Day in London...

Day 8, June 28 2013 Friday

A Merry olde day in London...

Last night we had thundershowers and today heavy rain - good thing today’s plan’s were to be indoors!  Our timing is impeccable...today...

First on our list of things to see was the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum (the first Canadian regiment in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1883).  The museum told the history of this regiment from the Northwest Rebellion to Afghanistan.  It houses numerous uniforms, weapons, artifacts, medals, dioramas, and interesting stories of the people who fought and still fight to maintain our freedom.

Next on our tour of London was the Elgin County Rail Museum, which is housed in a very old building in St. Thomas which was the hub of railroading in Canada.  In it’s day it had the largest roundhouse in North America.  The museum is in an old building and one of the last one’s standing.  In fact parts of the building we couldn’t tour because it wasn’t structurally sound (concrete roof was not safe).  

Included in the museum was a 5700 steam engine, the largest ever built in Canada.  The English couldn’t figure out why such a big steam engine was required - they probably did not really understand the size and scope of Canada’s land mass.  This engine’s top speed was 100 mph.

We also see a bike adapted to fit the rails we were told farm kids would ride these to school and home, to lessen their distance traveled - the bike was not legal, however there was a legal adapted bike called the Kalamazoo Velocipede ( the red one below) built in 1888 which was legal and the railway workers would use this to inspect the lines.

London Museum was reported to have an exhibit of 1812.  The guys drop me off so I can tour an old house (Eldon House) built in 1834 by John Harris and Amelia Ryerse Harris, which was lived in and until the 1950’s by the Harris family descendants.

Within 5 minutes of me touring the house, the guys show up for the tour. The London Museum is actually an art gallery apparently isn’t required to have anything of note in their exhibit of 1812 history to call it an exhibit of 1812 history.  Disappointing would be the kindest way to put it.

So...we continue with the Eldon House.  This is the second oldest building in London, and the oldest house.  The oldest building was up the street - the old city hall, which was built to look like and be used as a fortress, in case the Americans tried to come up the Thames river and attack.

The Eldon house was what you would expect a wealthy family of the 1800’s to have.  It was big, beautiful, carved black walnut banisters.  It also had  British Columbia Redwood Cedar on the ceiling in the dining room and parlor.  Like many wealthy families, the house was passed down through generations and finally ended up with a female descendant, Millie Harris who remained single all her life, and was particularly careful with the house and realized the importance of the preservation of it.  When her nieces and nephews inherited it they donated it to the city of London and most of it’s original contents...except for the original dining table and the china.

I loved the Japanese wall paper - it was heavily embossed and the background color was made to look like rich leather.  Funny thing about this story is... about 20 years ago it was discovered that the wallpaper was hung wrong - it was supposed to be hung horizontally (the rolls of paper were to go across the wall)  instead of vertically (not up and down) which is why the birds look peculiar...I thought it was made that way to make the birds look like flowers, because it looked odd to me too -now I know why.  

What’s even funnier about this is the tour guide has had a chance to read the diaries of Amelia Harris and discovered that she was very materialistic and was a “snippet”  somewhat of a perfectionist.  She said she thinks she was a woman that she wouldn’t like.  Imagine a woman of this caliber discovering that her wall paper was put on incorrectly!!!  She was spared this horrible indignity, in fact the whole family was spared this indignity.  The person who pointed it out was on a tour and knew a lot about Japanese wallpaper of the era and it was pointed out long after the house was given to the city. Check out the wallpaper pictures and see what you think...

The grandson of the patriarch worked in Africa as a mining engineer.  He hunted and so hunted game to eat.  The entry hall is covered with rare and beautiful horns of all kinds of wildlife in Africa that he shot, and ate, mounted the antlers/horns and brought them all back to Canada.  Included with these were all 4 feet from an elephant, and a foot of a Rhino.  The house only has 2 of the elephant’s feet (front foot and back foot) and are used as umbrella holders.  The Rhino foot is used as a container for the good liquor.

The Harris family women were prolific diary keepers, so there is 5 generations worth of diaries of the family.  Their life documented gives great insight to history in the area, as well as their personalities, quirks and foibles.  I would like to read some of this stuff when I get home. 

The Eldon House had an 1812 exhibit and which also celebrates the Bicentennial of John Harris’ arrival in Upper Canada.  Four exhibits chronicle the lives of John and Amelia during the war of 1812, that would eventually bring them together.

We end the day with a Shakespeare play called "Measure for Measure" in the world famous location for the Stratford Festival right here in Stratford....Ontario.  

Lucas’ Statement: In the train shops, the floors were wood blocks, set vertically and slightly different heights so it was easier for the workers to stand on, instead of concrete.