Description of Historic Place

Gairloch Gardens is located at 1306 Lakeshore Road on the south side of Lakeshore Road, along the shore of Lake Ontario in the Town of Oakville. The property consists of a three storey stone and stucco residence that was constructed from 1923 to 1924.

The property was designated by the Town of Oakville in 1986 for its heritage value under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 1986-192).

Heritage Value

Located at 1306 Lakeshore Road, Gairloch Gardens is a lake estate associated with two prominent Oakville locals. Colonel W.G. MacKendrick had the home built for his family in 1923. Upon his death, Toronto investment banker, James Gairdner, purchased the estate. Gairdner named the estate “Gairloch” after a small Scottish town. Upon Gairdner's death in 1972 the estate was bequeathed to the Town of Oakville for use as a park and gallery for contemporary artists.

Gairloch Gardens is a good example of Tudor style residence. Typical of this style is the stone and stucco exterior and steeply pitched roof. Continuing with this style are the tall narrow fenestrations with multi paned windows. The hip roof features a prominent cross gable with exposed beams between the first and second storey. The estate has many unique attributes such as a meandering stream, pond and formal gardens.

Sources: Town of Oakville, By-law 1986-192; Oakville Galleries “Who We Are”.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of Gairloch Gardens include the:
- proximity to Lake Ontario
- three storey stone and stucco exterior
- hip roof
- prominent cross gable
- original twelve and eighteen paned windows
- two large stone chimneys with decorative chimney pots
- exposed beams
- meandering stream
- pond
- formal garden areas within the park setting