Dundurn Castle
Dundurn Castle
Dundurn Castle is a historic neoclassical mansion on York Boulevard in Hamilton. The 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) house took three years and $175,000.00 to build, and was completed in 1835.
One of the most fascinating figures in Canadian history, Hamilton's Sir Allan Napier MacNab, was a charismatic character who lived large in the political and business world of his day. Born into a genteel family on the fringe of the powerful Family Compact, MacNab began his career as a boy soldier in the War of 1812, then dabbled in the theatre before beginning a law practice. A banker financing his own ventures, he made his fortune in land development and railways, and spent half of his adult life in politics, serving as premier and acting as speaker for both houses during his more than a quarter century in parliament. He built his "fort on the water" that would become known as Dundurn Castle in 1835.
Throughout his career, the castle ? with its picturesque setting, dozens of rooms, the latest in plumbing and an embellishing dovecote and cockpit ? embodied his aspirations and approach to life in a young, enterprising city. Within its walls, he experienced triumphs and loss, including the death of his wife, defeat in politics and finally the crumbling of his finances, leaving him penniless at his death in 1862. This book tells the colourful story of MacNab, family man, politician, and entrepreneur, and describes the grand and beautiful setting of home and grounds against which he played out his life.
Tours that might be of interest.
Castles in Ontario? Okay, it's a bit of a loose definition for Open Book Explorer. Ontario may not be Scotland or England or any other European country, and we may not actually have authentic castles but we do have massive houses once designed to look like castles. And these places have some great history and stories of their own. That counts for something right? We think so and it's why we've got a tour set up with some good books to go with it.
Pioneers, soldiers, merchants, murderers, workers and bosses--all contributed to the colourful history of the tough, attractive city of Hamilton.
From the Hermitage ruins to Dundurn Castle, from the Customs House to Stoney Creek Battlefield Park, the city of Hamilton, Ontario, is steeped in a rich history and culture. But beneath the surface of the Steel City there dwells a darker heart ? from the shadows of yesteryear arise the unexplainable, the bizarre, and the chilling.
One of the most fascinating figures in Canadian history, Hamilton's Sir Allan Napier MacNab, was a charismatic character who lived large in the political and business world of his day. Born into a genteel family on the fringe of the powerful Family Compact, MacNab began his career as a boy soldier in the War of 1812, then dabbled in the theatre before beginning a law practice.
Beach Boulevard, Mud Street, Sulphur Springs Road, Paradise Road, the Jolley Cut -- street names are a vivid and living embodiment of a city's history, of the dreams, passions and workaday concerns of its citizens. Love, murder, betrayal, political intrigue -- all are present in this engaging new book about Hamilton's past.