Date of Plaque Unveiling: 6 December 2001
Speakers: Professor Frederick H. Armstrong
Location: 10 Grand Avenue, London, ON
History
Waverley is a gorgeous Queen Anne mansion built in the 1880s for Charles F. Goodhue on land owned by Goodhue's father, George Jervis Goodhue, London's first millionaire. Named after George Goodhue's home on Bathurst Street, Waverley was planned by British architect Captain Hamilton Tovey.
London architect George F. Durand extensively modified Tovey's plans and built the mansion. Durand is considered by some to be Southwestern Ontario's most important architect. He trained under William B. Robinson and worked in New York before returning to London with his bride Sarah Parker of Albany. In London he joined the firm of William Robinson and Thomas Henry Tracy.
Waverley, a beautiful London white brick mansion, is an excellent example of Durand's exuberant Queen Anne style. In particular the irregular silhouette, the many different roof types, and the heavy supporting woodwork with intricate and delicate trim are classic features of the style.
On Goodhue's death in 1893, Goodhue's daughter sold Waverley to Thomas Henry Smallman, who made several additions to Waverley, including a ballroom and a number of turrets. A native of Ireland, he was the eldest son of James Knight Smallman, and the brother of John Bamlet Smallman of London's Smallman and Ingram department store.
Thomas Smallman was a founding member of Imperial Oil, one of the first directors of London Life Insurance in 1874, and a board member of his brother's department store. Thomas was also appointed by the province of Ontario to the first Board of Governors of Western University, now The University of Western Ontario. He had two children, John Elton and Eleanor Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Smallman occupied the property until her death in 1948, when it was sold to the Shute Institute for Medical Research, a research institute credited with pioneering the medical application of vitamin E.
In 1987 Diversicare Canada Management Services took over the mansion and, with the addition of the state-of-the-art south-west wing, transformed it into a retirement home.
The mansion is still occasionally available for viewing by the public. It has in the past participated in Doors Open London and in December 2009 hosted a Victorian Christmas Open House.
