Why the Jacob Hespeler Dovecote is important to our community.

 

Links Directly Back to Jacob Hespeler

There are very few remaining buildings of any kind that can be directly linked back to Jacob Hespeler. The stone structure, a dovecote, on the Forbes property, previously the Jacob Hespeler Farm, is one of those buildings and it needs to be preserved.

It is a Dovecote

A dovecote basically is a structure to host domestic pigeons and the only real requirement is there is a spot for the pigeons to enter and leave from at the top of the building. There are only 2 others known in Ontario.

The developer hired a consulting firm, to determine if the building was a dovecote. The flawed study stated it wasn’t. The study ignored/minimized, Winfield Brewster, Hespeler historian,  writings from his 1951 Publication Hespeler, New Hope on p13 which stated,

“And the U-shaped stone barns of which one square tower still remains. The ground floor of this tower housed ducks, the second chickens while the top floor was a pigeon loft.”

The consultant based his decision on showing dovecotes that do not look like the Hespeler one, even though they can be any type of shape of structure, and on a grainy photograph taken from faraway, that really doesn’t refute anything.

Here is an example of a dovecote in Scotland on the Isle of Skye, next to the Jacob Hespeler dovecote. It is obvious to anyone that comparing this photo and with Winfield Brewster’s written account, this historic stone building is a dovecote.

Fusion Homes Delay Tactic

The land it is on was sold to Fusion Homes, mature trees have been clearcut, and the subdivision is ready to be built.

According to Cambridge Today articles, The developer had agreed to move the structure to the new location and pay for the majority of the restoration BEFORE the subdivision was built. The city would pay for some upgrades to it.

Recently, Hespeler Councilor Helen Shrewry, and some other councilors, let the developer Fusion Homes off the hook to move the Jacob Hespeler Dovecote before development begin on the subdivision.

Helen Shrewy, put forth the motion to delay the developer’s movement of the dovecote and ignored the City’s Chief Planner warning to council that this could give the developer a reason not to move ahead with the agreed-upon relocation in a timely manner and may put the city at risk of increased costs and complications.

Even more unsettling is the developers spokesperson at the meeting was vague when asked when they would actually move the dovecote. The statement given was, “She anticipated work on the stone tower would go ahead from May to September.” Using the word “anticipate” lacks any clear and measurable time frames.

Final Thoughts

Saving what is left of Hespeler’s historical building will become increasingly difficult. Developers have already bought up parts of downtown and Queen Street West. I am witnessing already that developers, on some historical buildings they own, are using the “death by neglect” strategy to ensure their demise.

Sad times indeed.