Monday 26 October 2015

Graydon Hall Park

This 5.3 hectare (13 acres) park is located at 215 Graydon Hall Drive, North York on a plateau near Don Mills Road and the 401. It can be reached by the 122 Graydon Hall bus which stops on either the west or east side of the road.





One hundred acres of farmland was purchased by the successful businessman, Rupert Bain, and transformed into the Graydon Hall estate. Graydon Hall, itself, was completed in 1936 at a cost of $250,000, an extraordinary sum for the time. This was followed by landscaping, and a 9-hole golf course, terraced pools in a garden area at the rear of the mansion. Bain was an avid polo player and a master of hounds at the Eglinton Hunt Club.

A large part of the Graydon Hall manor property was sold to EP Taylor on which he built stables, kennels, polo field, and race track in 1950. In 1951, the mansion house and grounds were sold to Nelson Morgan Davis to Intercity Forwarders. In 1952, Bain died of a cerebral hemorrhage after a riding accident.


Near the sign to the park is a pathway that goes behind the mansion along the southern edge of it.



The path leads past thick wooded and brush filled areas.





Leading to the rear of the mansion is a break off path through close underbrush.



After a short walk over a lush well kept lawn between two rows of trees bordered by low stone walls is an iron fence protecting the grounds of the Graydon Hall Manor.




Research: Sheridan Nurseries: One Hundred Years of People, Plans and Plants. By Edward Butts, Karl Stennson. Pp 100- http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/north-york/graydon

Photo Credit: BEMartin2015