Coach House
A newly renovated heritage building on site at Erchless Estate.
Coach House Restoration Project
The Oakville Museum Coach House Restoration Project will create a much anticipated addition to the Oakville Museum’s cultural and heritage programming capacity.
The Coach House is a 121-year-old heritage building that has had many roles over the years, including its most recent use as a storage facility for the Museum. Construction work is now complete and the site officially opened on May 14, 2022.
Project features
- Create a multi-purpose public venue and restore the Gardener’s Cottage
- Strengthen links and enhance visual access to the Coach House
- Enhance the indoor and outdoor connection and presence of the Coach House in the museum campus
- Harmonize the landscape design with the larger Erchless campus and broader park, river, lake and road settings
- Integrate path systems, wayfinding and visual accessibility from within and outside the museum campus
- Protect the archeological and cultural heritage significance of the Coach House and surrounding grounds
A brief history of the Coach House
The Coach House was constructed for Allan Chisholm ca. 1899 as part of large landscaping renovation project of the Erchless Estate and designed by Dick and Wickson, a leading Toronto architectural firm. Firm partner Frank Wickson served as president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and was responsible for high-profile commissions such as Timothy Eaton Memorial Church and original Toronto Reference Library.
Built in the Shingle Style, popular around the turn of the 20th century, this style is noted for its extensive use of wood shingles, hence the name. This general architectural style is also known as the Arts and Craft style. Other Victorian styles of the period were quite ornate but the shingle-style was simple in form and detailing. The Coach House is the best preserved example of this style within Oakville.
The Coach House was used as a carriage house, garage, residence and even housed the pediatrics practice of Dr. Juliet Chisholm in the middle of the 20th century. It’s most recent use as artifact storage is no longer needed, since new space at the Queen Elizabeth Park Cultural and Community Centre is available has been created, providing the opportunity to redevelop the Coach House for public use.