Mornington Street

When the county was established in 1853, Mornington was first included as part of Ellice Township, because  Mornington Township had not yet been organized. Though settlement of Mornington began in 1843, the township was not surveyed until 1848, and confusion over early lot lines near persisted for many years. Mornington was established as a separate township in 1854, but the name Mornington had been used to describe that area since the first settlers arrived. The name appears on an 1847 map of the proposed county when it was called Peel. Peel was later changed to Perth.

The name Mornington honours Richard Colley Wellesley, also called 2nd Earl of Mornington (June 20, 1760 -Sept. 26, 1842). He was the eldest brother of the famous Duke of Wellington, England's military hero. His title was taken from the Village of Mornington in the County of Meath, in the Free State Ireland. This earl was the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1821 to 1828 and in 1933 and 1934. He enlarged the British Empire in India, and attempted to reconcile Protestants and Roman Catholics in his bitterly divided country. Despite his own achievements, he displayed an ever-increasing jealousy of his younger brother, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington. Richard Colley Wellesley died before the first settlers arrived in Mornington Township in Perth County.

On the 1857 map of Stratford, the part between Britannia and James streets was shown as Mornington Street but beyond James, it was shown as Wellesley Street, probably in honour of Richard Colley Wellesley (2nd Earl of Mornington), but it could also have been for his brother Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington and England's greatest military leader.

In the early days of Stratford, the streets were paved with mud and were without sidewalks. In 1856, Mornington, Erie and Norman were the first three streets to get wooden sidewalks. The first sidewalk was several boards wide, with the boards laid end to end on wooden sleepers or ties. The walk ran from the Huron Street corner, up the Mornington Street hill (on the east side only) to end at St. James Church.

William Frederick McCulloch (see McCullock Street), businessman, aristocrat and Stratford's largest landowner, provided the large triangle of land for St. James Church, almost as a gift. He owned all the land between Mornington Street and the Avon River, as far as James Street. Whether or not McCulloch had anything to do with the new sidewalk to St. James Church is now lost to history.  By Stanford Dingman  Picture: Wikipedia

Rev. William Bettridge travelled from Woodstock to Stratford to deliver services. In 1843, the parish of St. James received its first incumbent, Rev. William Hickey. Two of the congregation's previous churches have been located on this site. The first was a wood-frame structure built in 1840, and the second built in 1855. 

Designed by prominent architects Gundry and Langley, the present church was built between 1868 and 1870. Bishop Benjamin Cronyn (1802-1871), the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron, opened the church on March 20, 1870. In 1876, the parish of St. James helped spread Anglicanism in Stratford by opening a mission church, called Home Memorial, at the opposite end of town. It was the predecessor to St. Paul's Anglican Church, which opened in a new building in 1905. St. James is also associated with parishioners Robina and Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars (see Hamilton Street), who co-authored the novel Committed to His Charge: A Canadian Chronicle (1900), which described life in Stratford and St. James Church. In 1906, William Battershall (see Battershall Crescent) donated money to the church for a set of bells, which provided incentive to build the bell tower, which was completed in 1909. Source: Canada's Historic Places  See also History of St. James | About | St. James Anglican Church 

Addendum: To listen to the bells of St. James, click here.  The Bells of St. James' - YouTube 

To learn more about the history of the bells and  the bell tower, click here. The Bells of St. James | Ministries | St. James Anglican Church 

Note: In the Shadow of Thy Wings, the Story of St. James’ Church, Stratford, Ontario, Canada – Thelma M. Morrison — Published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the church, the book provides an interesting look back at the history of the church, and the congregation.

Publication Date: 1990 — Stratford Public Library

In 1863, Ferguson sold the house to Thomas J. Birch, who hired Thomas Orr, a local builder and architect, to build a one-storey cottage addition on the front of the original structure. Birch operated a local hardware store and was active in town affairs including the founding of the town's first fire department. He was one of the first deacons of the Ontario Street Baptist Church, which he had helped to establish.

The original, and now rear, section of the present house is a two-storey red-brick structure supported by cedar beams found nowhere else in the home. It was one of the earliest brick buildings in Stratford. Originally, it had three small rooms on the first storey and three small rooms on the second, with an extremely narrow staircase leading to the second storey. 

The front and newer section of the house was added in 1863 and is an excellent example of the Regency Cottage architectural style. Typical of this style is the symmetrical facade with buff brick quoins and frieze below the roofline. The original double-hung, six-over-six windows are still in place with buff brick surrounds and shutters. The main entrance is decorated with sidelights, transom and lantern. A small Greek Revival portico with Doric columns, pilasters and arched copper-clad roof was added in 1948. Source: Canada's Historic Places