Despite having visited many of the towns in my part of Ontario there are still some hidden gems that have been on my hit list but never actually gone to see despite having them on said hit list for so long. One of these places is the Hermitage, not the one in Russia, but rather the one in Ancaster, Ontario. If you haven’t heard of Ancaster that’s okay, it has been a part of Hamilton since 2001 despite being one of the earliest urban centres in the Greater Hamilton Area predating both Hamilton and Dundas. With my plan to sell off some of my lesser used cameras at the end of this year I wanted to ensure that they still worked so for this trip I grabbed my Minolta Maxxum 70 and paired it with the elevated kit lens the 24-105mm zoom and loaded up a roll of Ilford FP4+ rating it at ASA-100 and developed in Bellini Hydrofen.
In 1793 the Crown deeded the land to Henry Chrysler, although through the rest of the 18th and into the early parts of the 19th century nothing of note happened on the plot. It wasn’t until 1830 that anything was built on the land when Reverend George Sheed purchased the land. Reverend Sheed had founded the congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, one of the first congregations in Ancaster. Reverend Sheed constructed a small frame home on the land, but his time on the property was short lived as he died in 1832. A year later the land was bought by Otto Ives who named the house and land The Hermitage. Otto would bring his wife, children and his niece Angelica to live in Ancaster. As a man of means Otto employed a handful of staff including a coachman by the name of William Black. Black’s heart was drawn to Angelica and the two would begin a relationship and Black would go to Otto and ask for her hand in marriage. A request Otto would turn down, Black broken hearted hanged himself in the coach house and be buried where Sulphur Springs Road intersects with Lovers Lane. But his ghost is said to still wander the grounds on clear moonlit nights. Otto and his family lived in the house until the mid-century when the property was purchased by George Leith, the second son of a Scottish noble, he was unable to inherit the family land and title and instead was granted a pension and moved to Canada in 1855. Leith had big plans for the property and immediately started planning on out landscaping and a grand two story home. Constructed out of brick and limestone the new home was surrounded by parkland, orchards, a new gatehouse and even a tenant farm. George would even parcel off a section of property for his daughter and her husband to build their home nearby. George would die in 1889 and his wife in 1900. Their daughter, Alma Dick-Lauder, purchased the land in 1902 and continued to live in the family home. Alma is known for her work as a local historian and author. The house burned in 1934 reducing it to a ruin, Alma built a small house amongst the ruins and lived there until 1942. After Alma’s death the land passed through different hands, logged and reforested and the ruins were largely forgotten until the Hamilton Conservation Authority purchased 125 acres of the former property including the ruins in 1972. The property would receive a historical designation in 1990 and in 2015 extensive restoration work stabalised the ruins and the new park area opened the public in 2016.
It’s odd being surrounded by urban and industry in Hamilton and as soon as you pull onto Sulphur Springs Road in Ancaster the houses become fewer, bigger, and further between and then you’re on a winding road through the forests. A reminder of what the area once looked like. The small parking lot had several cars in it already upon my arrival, but the lot connects to a larger trail system through the Dundas Valley. After wrestling with the pay machine, I headed out on the main loop trail, the day was perfect with lots of sun and lots of overhead coverage from tall ancient trees. I did run into a few people along the way, all of them friendly. It only took fifteen minutes of walking to get out to the Hermitage ruins, which were a lot smaller than I expected. But well worth the visit to see them in person along with the additional ruins of the other buildings. After spending a bit of time I headed back, I checked the time for doing the whole main loop, but didn’t want to commit to that. On the way back I saw a sign pointing to the Griffin House, another historic home that I’ve seen mention of. So I decided to branch off and check it out, the house dated back to 1827 but came into the ownership of Eneral Griffin, who had been born into slavery escaped to Upper Canada in 1828 (9), and remained in the family for over a century and a half. Today it is also a museum although it was closed when I was visiting due to some needed repair work. From there I headed back and ducked around the tail end of the main loop to look at the Heritage Cascade a rather small waterfall near the gatehouse but you need to take a longer route to see it because it crosses some private property which was gated off with visible cameras. I guess they had issues with people wandering through in the past.
Honestly, I’m glad I had the chance to come and check the place out. If you are planning on going, know that the Google Map entry is a little misleading when trying to point yourself in the direction. Instead of going to the Hermitage directly, point yourself at the Gatehouse. There is a control gate and a fee attached to visiting, but these fees are worth it as it does support the ongoing support needed to keep these historic locations up and running and in good condition. Plus it makes me feel a little better about parking my car knowing that I won’t get a ticket or towed. Also make sure to bring water and wear good shoes as it is a bit of a hike up to the ruins. I did also shoot some digital while I was there but didn’t include those shots here in the post, you can head over to Flickr to see the entire album.