*Okay, fine, a local cemetery.

St. James’ Cemetery on Parliament Street just north of Wellesley.

The cemetery was opened in 1844 as the burial ground for the Anglican Cathedral of St. James. It features elaborate tombs and grave markers for members of well-known Ontario families active in politics, the law, the church, and business. The names will be familiar to the Torontonians of today, names like Jarvis, Gooderham, Worts, Gzowski,

Austin, Robarts, Scadding, Cawthra, as well as names no longer so familiar like William Pearce Howland, a Father of Confederation and the second Lieutenant – Governor of Ontario (1868 – 1873). Now officially known as St. James’ Cemetery and Crematorium, it is non-denominational, and still has plots available.

Near the entrance is a small chapel – St. James-the-Less – bult in the High Victorian Gothic Revival style and situated on a small hill, the highest spot in the cemetery. Opened in 1861 the chapel is now a National Historic Site and still in use today.

The cemetery is on two levels, with a winding path that leads down into the Rosedale Ravine, passing tombs on the left that run alongside the Rosedale Valley Road, and ones on the right that are built into the side of the hill and look like they would not be out of place in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

One of my walks was on a cold and rainy late Spring afternoon and the whole area was a bit dark and rather foreboding. I didn’t linger!

Other days were brighter and sunnier and the sun in the trees made for a very pleasant walk. What do you mean, normal people don’t take constitutionals around a graveyard? Only historians/genealogists would consider that to be a fun way to spend a few hours? In that case, I freely admit to not being ‘normal’.

Further Reading

St. James’ Cemetery & Crematorium – Toronto’s oldest operating cemetery (stjamescemetery.ca)