Anthony Patrick Cawthra Adamson was a leading expert in Ontario’s architectural heritage. His impressive career spanned numerous fields, including teaching at the University of Toronto (1955–1965), urban planning, and municipal governance. He also served as the chief designer of Upper Canada Village and supervised the restoration of Dundurn Castle in Hamilton. In 1971, he played a pivotal role in saving Toronto’s Union Station from demolition. Adamson co-authored several books on Ontario’s architectural history, collaborating with his longtime colleague Marion MacRae. A multifaceted personality, Adamson left an indelible mark on Ontario’s architectural and cultural history. Read more on torontoski.
Origins and Architectural Expertise
Anthony Adamson hailed from one of Upper Canada’s most affluent and historical families. This privileged background provided him with the resources and opportunities to excel. Recognized as a leading authority on Ontario’s architectural heritage, Adamson co-authored several notable works, including The Ancestral Roof: The Domestic Architecture of Upper Canada (1963), written with Marion MacRae. Later, he penned a semi-autobiographical family history, Bees on the Roof, which humorously reflected his privileged upbringing.
Throughout his diverse career, Adamson served as a university professor, urban planner, municipal official, and the founding chair of the Ontario Arts Council. He also contributed to numerous organizations, including the National Capital Commission, the Ontario Heritage Foundation, and Architectural Conservancy Ontario. He was a recipient of the Governor General’s Award, the Order of Canada, and honorary degrees from the University of Windsor and the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Adamson’s deep knowledge of pre-modern Ontario architecture earned him widespread acclaim. His unparalleled expertise allowed him to identify architectural details with remarkable precision. His friend Stephen Otto noted that few in Ontario possessed Adamson’s depth of knowledge about historic buildings. Otto also praised Adamson’s charisma and ability to negotiate, traits that proved invaluable in his heritage conservation efforts.
The Adamson Family Legacy
Born in 1906, Anthony was the second son of Colonel Agar and Mabel Cawthra Adamson. His father, a decorated veteran of the Anglo-Boer War and World War I, hailed from a family that settled in Upper Canada shortly after the 1837 Rebellion. His mother belonged to the wealthy and influential Cawthra family, often referred to as the “Astors of Canada.”
The Adamsons lived a life of privilege, reflected in their artistic endeavors, such as decorating the Royal Alexandra Theatre and the Senate Chamber, while hosting aristocratic gatherings. Following family tradition, Anthony attended a military school in England. At age 10, he witnessed King George V awarding his father the Distinguished Service Order.
A Passion for Architecture
Adamson studied at Cambridge and the University of London before partnering with Toronto architect Eric Ross Arthur in 1930. That same year, he married Augusta Bonnycastle, a descendant of prominent Bonnycastle and Boulton families.
In 1935, Adamson contracted tuberculosis, forcing him into a seven-year convalescence. Upon recovery, he joined the University of Toronto as a professor of architectural history and urban planning, where he taught for over two decades. Inspired by his older brother Rodney’s political career, Adamson pursued municipal politics, holding various elected positions and serving as reeve of Toronto Township for more than a decade.
In 1956, Adamson spearheaded the creation of Upper Canada Village, a unique heritage site near Morrisburg, Ontario, by relocating historic buildings threatened by the St. Lawrence Seaway project. As chief designer, he spent three years traveling across Ontario, meticulously documenting architectural details with his wife Augusta and colleague Marion MacRae.
Other Accomplishments of Anthony Adamson
Upper Canada Village opened in 1961, and Adamson was an honored guest at its 40th anniversary. He also played a pivotal role in the restoration of Dundurn Castle, a grand Italianate villa in Hamilton, completed in 1967.
Adamson and MacRae co-authored several books, including Hallowed Walls (1975), focusing on Ontario’s churches, and Cornerstones of Order (1983), which examined courthouses and town halls. His semi-autobiographical Bees on the Roof (1987) was privately published and drew from family documents discovered in the attic of the family estate in Port Credit, Ontario. The property was later expropriated, becoming the Adamson campus of the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Adamson’s wife Augusta passed away in 1997, followed by his son Inigo in 1977. He was survived by his sons Adrian and Jeremy, the latter a curator at the Library of Congress, as well as his daughters-in-law and numerous grandchildren. Anthony Adamson passed away in Toronto in May 2002 at the age of 95, leaving behind a legacy of cultural and architectural contributions.
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