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Victoria Memorial Square is the site of Toronto’s first military burial ground. Set aside by Lieutenant Governor Simcoe in 1794, its first occupant was Simcoe’s own 15-month-old daughter, Katherine, who was buried on Easter Monday of that year. Her heartbroken mother tells the story in a letter that can be read on a board in the square today. The burial ground was in use until 1863, by which time several hundred bodies had been buried. The history of the cemetery since then is sorry indeed. By the mid-1950s all the wooden markers, and most of the stone ones, were gone. In 2010 the 17 surviving gravestones – only 12 of them identifiable – were collected into the present arrangement, designed by ERA Architects. Originally, the steel mounts of the gravestones held a clear plastic film displaying the text of the inscriptions. These films did not last and so staff at Fort York National Historic Site – which this square has been part of since 2003 – began seeking a more lasting solution. After consulting ERA, etched stainless-steel panels were created to be attached firmly (and invisibly) to the existing mounts. They were installed on November 13 by WSI Sign Systems Ltd.
Among the most poignant gravestones is this one (left) made for Charlotte, the 36-year-old wife of John Armitage, who died in April, 1819. It cites the opening lines of an English hymn by Isaac Watts: “When I can read my title clear, To Mansions in the skies,/ I’ll bid farewell to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes.”
New plaques created
New plaques created
New plaques created
New plaques created
New plaques created
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