Wolford Chapel

Wolford Chapel is a chapel built in 1800 by Lieutenant General John Graves Simcoe, who was the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, now Ontario. The chapel has been restored around 1966 and is constructed from local stone rubble with limestone ashlar details and a slate roof.

The chapel has a rectangular plan with the entrance located at the west end. The north and south sides feature two square-headed single light windows with Decorated tracery. The west end includes a two-centred arch doorway with a hoodmould, above which is a quatrefoil oculus. A chamfered plinth encircles the building, and on the east, west, and south sides, there are several arch-headed niches, most of which hold slate plaques commemorating members of the Simcoe family. The roof is gable-ended and has shaped barge boards.

Inside, the roof structure is concealed by a plaster segmental vault. The walls are plastered, and the floor is covered with 19th-century tiles. Notable features include a carved oak reredos in Gothic style, which has painted panels of the Lord's Prayer and the Commandments, and a Beerstone ashlar altar also in Gothic style. The oak altar rail is supported by cast iron standards. The oak reading desk, pews, and wainscotting contain many 17th-century carved elements, including linenfold panels and chip-carved lunettes with floral designs. The font is made of Beerstone and is Gothic in style. There are also some possibly 18th-century lozenge-shaped boards on the walls painted with armorial bearings. A plaque notes that in 1966, the deeds of the chapel were handed to the Prime Minister of Ontario by Sir Geoffrey Harmsworth, whose family previously owned, restored, and maintained the chapel.

Wolford Chapel serves as the burial place of Lieutenant General John Graves Simcoe, who founded the city of York, now Toronto, and is believed to be built on the site of the Old Wulphere Church.