Description of Historic Place

Located on the west side of Yonge Street at the north end of downtown Aurora, Horton Place is a two storey Italianate style residence.

Horton Place has been recognized for its heritage value by the Town of Aurora by-Law #2891-87.

Heritage Value

Horton Place is as an excellent example of the Italianate style, and its fine detailing and elegance reflect the prosperity of the middle class in Victorian Aurora.

Dr. Alfred Robinson, established a prosperous dental practice in Aurora in the mid 1860's and in 1875 constructed Horton Place, to combine his residence with his dental surgery. At the same time, a barn was built at the back of the property to house the livestock, which included champion Jersey cows. The house was named Horton Place after the Robinson ancestral home in England, and Dr. Robinson and his wife Mary went on to raise their six children here. Two of their daughters ran a private school in the 1880-90's, teaching French and dancing. The property was sold in 1901, several years after Dr. Robinson's death, to Charles Webster.

Charles Webster was a manager at the local Fleury Agricultural Implement Works, the most important industry in early Aurora, for its contribution to Aurora business and growth. He and his wife Della were civic-minded people, with Charles serving on Town Council, the Library and Public School boards, and Della as an organizer for the Liberal Party. Their daughter, Mary Margaret, continued to live in the house after their deaths, with her husband William McIntyre and their two children. Dr. W. John McIntyre, Mary Margaret's son, still lives in the house today.

The symmetrical exterior and square plan with central entrance, round-headed window openings, and hip roof with paired ornamental brackets exemplify Horton Place as Aurora's finest and most complete example of the Italianate style. The house has been meticulously maintained, with ongoing conservation and restoration work and the original tongue and groove clad barn still stands.

In 1968, due to the widening of the main thoroughfare, Yonge Street, through Aurora, a concrete retaining wall was constructed in front of Horton Place, which altered the relationship of the site to the street. However, bordered on top by a small iron railing Horton Place continues to be a prominent well-maintained property of the streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Designation Report: Horton Place, Town of Aurora By-law #2891-87.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements which express the heritage value of Horton Place include the:
- symmetrical appearance
- square plan
- central entrance
- two-storey brick construction
- hipped roof
- historic additions
- original fenestration with round headed sashes
- louvered shutters
- wide overhanging eaves with heavy ornamental paired brackets
- main entrance porch and side verandah, both with cast iron balcony railings
- original entrances, including doors and sidelights
- decorative trim throughout