Avonsyde

The land on which the house stands was originally part of a 200 acre Crown Grant awarded to King’s College on 3 January 1828. In 1839 the property was divided into two lots. The house was built for the Forbes family in 1857, and constructed on the northern part of the lot. James Forbes, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland came to Canada c. 1830. He founded and operated the Forbes-Fisher Stove Foundry Company in Hamilton, but due to ill health, he sold his business and moved to East Flamborough with his family.

“Avonsyde” (the name comes from a book read by Forbes’ grandchildren) was built in two stages, the back section being built first and the front facing Dundas Street later. Examination of the brickwork reveals a house that was constructed for show. The front facade is made of stretcher bond which gives a consistent and tidy image to the house, on the sides and rear a more practical brick work is used which does not convey such a clean image. This type of building trick is commonly found on older stone houses but rarely seen on a brick building such as “Avonsyde”.