Sunnyside
Bylaw: (1980)-10466
Legal description: Pt Lot 1, Pt Lot 2, Plan 94
Designated portions
The river-front façade, with its stone portico, entrance steps and curling stone pillars, is the primary portion to be designated. The mantel of carved stone, illustration “Ker Cavan”, and the original portico columns mounted inside the building and the carved stone sun-dial pedestal in the garden are also included as items of architectural significance.
Property history
William Kennedy, Scottish stone carver and mason, built “Sunnyside” in 1854 as a wedding gift for his daughter, Mrs. Charles Davidson. It remained with the Davidson family for 123 years. Construction details are documented in the Archives of the University of Guelph.
The two-storey stone house, with its various additions, has recently been rebuilt inside (1979) to create four apartments. A contemporary sculptor has duplicated the four original columns supporting the unique stone portico facing the river. The original carved columns, with seriously-eroded details, are preserved as interior decoration.
The designation covers the river front façade with its stone portico and such interior examples of Kennedy’s work as the original portico columns and the Gothic mantel of carved stone, with a bas-relief of nearby “Ker Cavan”, which remains in the southerly living room on the ground floor. Two small pillars capped with early curling stones, which flank the entrance steps, and the carved stone sun-dial pedestal in the garden are also included as significant examples of Kennedy’s work.