Welcome to Caverhill
PRE-CONFEDERATION HOUSE ON A SPRAWLING PROPERTY IN THE ROSEDALE NEIGHBOURHOOD IS A TRUE TREASURE
The Toronto neighbourhood of Rosedale is studded with magnificent old mansions whose histories are intertwined with the relentless growth of a major city. But very few have risen, and fallen, and risen again in quite the manner of Caverhill, the pre-Confederation house set on a sprawling property overlooking the Rosedale Valley ravine.
Caverhill, also known as the Davis House and the Geary House, is the secondoldest home in Rosedale (only Drumsnab, overlooking the Don Valley on the other side of the neighbourhood, is older). But not so long ago, it was nearly lost, a victim of neglect and the city’s shifting attitudes toward its historical buildings. The story of Caverhill’s rescue is a testament to what can happen when a great house is acquired by owners with the resources — and more importantly, the will — to recognize a treasure worth preserving.
Today, the country-like drive along Rosedale Valley Road is pretty much the nicest route from Yonge Street to Bayview Avenue for mid-town commuters, but back in 1857 the Rosedale ravine was a daunting barrier for people seeking land for a new home. By that time, developers had already subdivided the area north of Bloor Street and were promoting building lots; but early on, there were few takers.
One of them was a young barrister named James Boyd Davis, who bought approximately an acre on a winding dirt lane, later known as Park Road, and built a singlestorey red-and-yellow brick house with a Regency-style front porch, setting it just back from the crest of the ravine. Six years later, presumably to make room for a growing family, he added a second storey and Italianate features — all the rage at the time — such as eave brackets, symmetrical French windows and temple-like front gables.
Some years later, Davis sold the property to George Geary, another young lawyer and the person most closely associated with the home’s history. Geary served as Toronto’s mayor from 1910 to 1914, a time of great expansion when many neighbouring hamlets were incorporated within city limits. Geary’s political fortunes continued to rise; he went on to become a member of Parliament in 1925. Geary had bought the house as a bachelor, but when he married, he named the house Caverhill, after his bride’s maiden name. Caverhill remained in the Geary family until 1984, when it was put up for sale. Then the home’s fortunes took a turn.
The buyer at that time was an investor from a prominent family who wanted to raze it and build a new, larger house on the property, but the proposal was rejected by the increasingly strict Rosedale heritage board. For the next 12 years, Caverhill stood empty and vulnerable, home to wildlife and vandals. (People who grew up nearby tell of breaking in and playing there as children, à la Rebel Without a Cause.)
By 1996, it was near to falling down when financier Robert Bourgeois and his wife bought it. Knowing something of its history, they embarked on the daunting task of painstakingly restoring it. The couple engaged the firm of Den Bosch & Finchley to help, working in partnership with Taylor Hazell Architects, specialists in conservation architecture.
As Den Bosch restoration specialist Robert Barber, who oversaw the project, recalls, “When we took the project over, it was in significant disrepair; there were animal carcasses inside, the roof sagged and the whole house was in pretty sorry shape. But slowly and methodically, we began a complete restoration, from the ground to the roof.”
Sadly, most of the interior had been removed by the previous owners, so much of the restoration involved careful detective work, says Barber. There were a precious few elements still salvageable: the imposing front door casing, with its leaded glass top and sidelights, was cleaned, repaired and reinstalled. Other details, such as the elaborate acanthusleaf plaster crown mouldings and other decorations, were replicated from remnants still clinging to crumbling walls.
“The original library was finished with beautiful, firstgrowth pine,” recalls Barber. “So we used those remnants to guide the rebuilding of the library, and today it’s considered one of the iconic rooms in Toronto.”
Heritage rules are most specific when it comes to exteriors, the portion of the house that is shared with the neighbourhood. The original brick was carefully cleaned, repaired and, where required, replaced with heritage brick. Chimneys were straightened; shutters were repaired or replicated; dormers were rebuilt and eaves and brackets replicated.
Figuring out the exact colour of the original preConfederation painted trim was one of several tasks that called for special investigative work. “There had been some interesting colours used over the years, ” Barber says with a chuckle, “but with careful paint removal, we were able to uncover the original paint, which we were then able to match exactly.”
As with every old-house renovation, there were setbacks. The family had commissioned an underground tunnel to the coach house just across the garden, which was used as a guest house. In the process, it was discovered that the soil was contaminated and needed complete removal. To make room for the machines, the entire coach house was dismantled, board by board and brick by brick, and reassembled after the work was completed.
The result was truly spectacular. Caverhill’s original grandeur slowly re-emerged: 14-foot ceilings, the long centre hall with formal drawing room on one side and panelled library on the other, the dining room with its bay window overlooking the shaded porch and gardens. The restoration took more than two years and at one point was heralded as “the largest private-house restoration in Canada.” A few years later, it was put on the market again.
Fortunately, this time Caverhill’s luck held. It was purchased by the current owner, David Berry, a stock market executive who had grown up in a Victorian farmhouse in Milton and had fallen in love with the house. The Berrys went on to raise their three children there, and continued to make improvements that were respectful both to its history (occasionally working in consultation with Barber), and to the needs and desires of a 21st century family. It was the Berrys who put in the yellow brick wall that faces the street, using heritage brick from Pennsylvania that closely matches the original brick of the house (which was almost certainly made locally). To a casual eye the wall looks like it might have always been there, which is exactly the point.
An old house needn’t be a museum, however. In fact, well-considered updates can actually help to prolong its life for future generations. Many of the Berry family’s updates fall into this category. Along with opening up the kitchen area to accommodate a sunny new family room, they added a number of modern-day comforts to the lower level: a guest suite, comfortable laundry room, wine cellar, home gym, steam room/sauna, and even a floor-hockey rink. The top floor was modernized and brightened, with a central peaked skylight, a lounge for the kids and a bedroom for the eldest son.
The home is filled with an impressive collection of Canadian art, favouring lithographs and animal motifs, a theme of David’s.
One of the most important artworks in Caverhill, though, encapsulates the idea that a property like this is about more than one individual family. It’s a bronze sculpture of a fawn by Toronto artist Andrew Davies, created to commemorate those lost in 9/11.
“I had been in contact with several traders at the World Trade Center, including a Canadian friend, when the first plane hit and I found out later he didn’t make it out,” Berry says, explaining that the sculpture, meant to represent the innocence of the people who died, resonated with him.
It’s just one of the many personal touches at the house.
Today, the kids are off to college, and Caverhill is on the market again. “I’m in no hurry to sell,” Berry says, knowing it will take a special buyer to appreciate the home’s unique character along with its luxuries. “There’s really no place like it in the city; with the ravine, it’s like a country home more than a city house. It’s big, but it doesn’t feel cavernous. It’s very much a cosy family home.”
Which is, throughout its shifting fortunes, what Caverhill was always meant to be.