Wolford Chapel is the burial place of John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...

, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. It is the property of the Canadian province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, and flies the Flag of Canada

Flag of Canada

The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...

 despite being in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 countryside.

The chapel was part of the Simcoe Estate near Honiton

Honiton

Honiton is a town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. The town's name is pronounced in two ways, and , each pronunciation having its adherents...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, in South West England and was built on John Graves Simcoe's commission in 1802.

Following Simcoe's death on October 26, 1806 the estate remained with the family, but was eventually sold and some parts broken up. The Chapel, alongside most of the estate, was acquired by British publisher Sir Geoffrey Harmsworth. Consideration of what to do with the chapel remained, and various ideas were but forward including transporting it to Canada. However, in 1966, Harmsworth decided to donate the chapel to the Ontario Heritage Trust

Ontario Heritage Trust

The Ontario Heritage Trust is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture, responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural heritage of Canada's most populous province. It was initially known as the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board...

.

On September 27, 1966, just under 160 years after Simcoe's death, Harmsworth gave a deed to then-Premier of Ontario John Robarts

John Robarts

John Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...

, alongside a deed making a permanent right of way to access the property, presented by Mr A G LeMarchant.

Simcoe's wife and children are also buried at the site, which is maintained by local people on behalf of the John Graves Simcoe Memorial Foundation.

External links

http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_MNO/Plaque_Outside03.html

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/163546