Maplelawn Garden Wall Rehabilitation

Maplelawn Garden Wall Rehabilitation

Maplelawn Estate (Maplelawn) is a federal property under the custodianship of the National Capital Commission (NCC). It is an estate property established in the early 1830s, which is located at 529 Richmond Road, Ottawa, Ontario. The property includes a two-and-a-half-storey ashlar masonry house, as well as its surrounding grounds and garden, which are enclosed by historic limestone masonry walls.

The house is a "classified" federal heritage building and designated by the City of Ottawa under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The entire estate is commemorated as a National Historic Site of Canada by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. The masonry walls enclose over 0.4 hectare (one acre) of the estate grounds, which include a large ornamental garden located east of the house. Maplelawn remains one of the best preserved and few remaining examples in Canada of an early 19th century walled garden.

The garden masonry walls have been repaired on an ongoing basis. However, deterioration has progressed, and the walls are currently in poor condition. Several years ago, the wall partially collapsed and, in 2021, a second section of the wall collapsed. The remaining wall segments are at imminent risk of failure. The proposed project consists of the rehabilitation of the garden walls. Heritage masonry experts with significant experience will supervise, dismantle and reassemble the wall. Salvaged stone will be used to the extent possible. 

A review of intervention will be conducted by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office prior to the finalization of the design. In addition, the Friends of Maplelawn Garden volunteer group is being consulted on an ongoing basis.

Excavation for the installation of a proper footing will require the removal of approximately 40 trees that are growing in close proximity to the walls. A tree compensation plan will be developed and implemented.

Tree removals will begin in early April 2022. Reconstruction of the garden walls will take place from May 2022 to February 2023. The sidewalk and traffic along Richmond Road will be temporarily impacted. Traffic control will be provided as required. Mitigation measures will be implemented to prevent impacts to wildlife and to the surrounding environment. A soil management plan will be developed for the management of excavated soils.

More

Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

Latest update

November 25, 2022 - The assessment decision statement has been issued to the proponent.

Participate

Key documents

Key documents
Document Number Document Title File Date
2 Notice of Determination - November 25, 2022
1 Public Notice - Maplelawn Garden Wall Rehabilitation - Public Comments Invited - February 11, 2022

Contacts

National Capital Commission
Environmental Assessment
40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A8
Email: IA-EI@ncc-ccn.ca


  • Location

    • Maplelawn Estate (Maplelawn), 529 Richmond Road, Ottawa, Ontario (Ontario)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Maintenance activities (fences, walls)

  • Assessment Status

    Completed

  • Start Date

    2022-02-11

  • Proponent

    National Capital Commission

  • Authorities

    • National Capital Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    83363

Nearby assessments

...within 200 kilometres
Report a problem on this page
Date modified: