Idlewyld

Another example of the architecture in my new neighbourhood in London, Ontario. Idlewyld was built for C. S. Hyman, who served as mayor of London and as a federal cabinet minister under Wilfrid Laurier.

The house has been expanded a couple of times. The original house is on the left, with the two leftmost gables. It is now a hotel.

Hyman was also a noted sportsman: Canadian men's singles tennis champion seven years in a row, captain of the national cricket team (and the most successful one), and a player for the London Tecumsehs baseball team (although not for the championship team shown in my Ephemera album). He is also believed to have introduced bridge to Canada.

By the way, Canadians chose baseball over cricket because toffs like Hyman played cricket. Before his time cricket was the game of the Family Compact, an anti-democratic Tory clique that ruled Upper Canada until the 1840s. The citizenry chose to play baseball. The schools of the posh still play cricket to this day, though. To give him his due, Chuck, as we have seen, played both games.

This is probably best viewed on black. Type Z to see if you agree.