Notice is Hereby Given that the Council of The Corporationof the Town of Newmarket intends to designate as a propertyof cultural heritage value and interest the following propertyin accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18:
Property Description: 112 Main Street North (NewmarketCemetery House) is located on the north side of BotsfordStreet in the Town of Newmarket. The subject property, knownas Newmarket Cemetery, contains a 19th century cemeterywhich includes the caretaker's house constructed in 1873 builtin a Gothic Revival style.
Legal Description: PCL 360-1 SEC M73; PT LT 360 PL M73;PT 1, 65R3283; NEWMARKET
Publication Date: Nov 1, 2024
Last Date for Objection: Dec 1, 2024Any notice of objection to this Notice of Intention to Designate,setting out the reason for objection and all relevant facts, mustbe served upon the Town Clerk within 30 days of the firstpublication of this notice.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest:
Physical/ Design Value
112 Main Street North has physical value as an exampleof an 19th century cemetery which includes the caretaker'shouse constructed in 1873 in a Gothic Revival design.Overall, the cemetery layout is in keeping with thepicturesque movement design principles. The oldest portion ofthe cemetery dates to 1869 and includes memorials for someof the earliest settler families in Newmarket. This undesignedsection includes memorials often clustered in familiar groupsoften with sporadically placed or oriented plots. To the rearof the cemetery is more organized with intentional layout andcalm and reflective spaces integrating burial gardens, in- ground memorials, upright monuments, walkways, columbaria,and natural features such as mature tree and vegetation. Thetwo-storey brick caretaker's house, currently covered withparging, has a symmetrical and balanced facade andfollows a cross-shaped plan with intersecting side gable roofshowcasing a prominent front gable which are characteristicof Gothic Revival architecture. The subject building includesrectangular window openings and stone sills and a prominenttwo-storey frontispiece with are also features associated withGothic Revival buildings. The caretaker's house is locatedatop a rise in topography with the cemetery plots located tothe to the north and rear of the building, this placementreflects the picturesque movement.
Historical and Associative Value
112 Main Street North has historic value as a 19th centurycemetery that served the historic Village of Newmarket.The purposed built caretaker's brick residence (now coveredwith parging) was constructed in 1873 by architect John T.Stokes on land owned by Thomas A. Lewis. Originally knownas Pleasantview Cemetery, the Newmarket Cemetery, wasestablished on land that belonged to local landowner Thomas A. Lewis. Prior to the establishment of the NewmarketCemetery, the town was served by a small burying groundon Eagle Street. Although the cemetery wasn't officiallyestablished until 1869, the first burial on the property tookplace on July 5, 1864, when local merchant Alfred Burns wasinterred. The original 12 acres of Thomas Lewis' propertywas officially sold to the Newmarket Cemetery Company in1872, and in 1873. The caretaker's residence was designedby local architect John T. Stokes. The first caretaker, WilliamTurrel, moved into the residence in 1875, and it the buildingwas occupied by cemetery caretakers fordecades and more recently used to support the managementof the cemetery.
112 Main Street North reflects the work of British bornlocal architect and civil engineer John T. Stokes. Stokesworked predominately in the Gothic Revival style asreflected in his own Sharon residence on Leslie Street, thecaretaker's residence at the Newmarket Cemetery (subjectproperty), and numerous public commissions such as theChristian Baptist Church and St. Andrew's PresbyterianChurch, both in Newmarket. Other commissions included thefirst and second North York Registry Offices in Newmarket,and public schools in Ringwood, Bolton, and Newmarket,among others. In addition to his architectural works JohnStokes played a significant role in civic matters and was afounding member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineerswith Cazimir Gzowski and was also active as a municipalofficial in Sharon, Ontario. John T. Stokes died of pneumoniaon November 30, 1891, and is buried in the NewmarketCemetery, whose caretaker's residence he designed.
Contextual Value
112 Main Street North is easily distinguishable as acemetery and important in defining the character of thearea. The park like setting, location, size, and streetfrontage in relation to the encompassing suburbancommunity defines this section of Main Street. Theunobstructive views from Main Street to the caretaker'sresidence is a key part of this landscape.
112 Main Street North is a landmark within the Town ofNewmarket. The cemetery occupies prominent open space,located along a major arterial road. It is a well-knownmarker in the community as it is among the early cemeteriesin Newmarket and houses the remains of many generationsof local citizens. The caretaker's residence located along thestreet on a rise of land is a local marker that denotes theentrance to the cemetery.
Additional information, including a full description of therationale for designation is available upon request fromUmar Mahmood, Planner, Committee of Adjustment andCultural Heritage, Planning Services at (905) 895-5193,extension 2458, or at umahmood@newmarket.ca duringregular business hours.