Cudmore House Keeps Its Heritage Designation

The brick house at 3175 Lakeshore Road West, known as Cudmore House, keeps its protected status. Oakville council voted on Aug. 10 to deny an application to repeal the heritage designation by-law covering the Bronte property.

Council found the house continues to meet at least two of the criteria set out in the Ontario Heritage Act and Ontario Regulation 9/06, which matched town staff's recommendation. The designation, passed in 2024, stays in effect, and with it the restrictions on what can be changed about the building.

The two and a half storey home dates to around 1920 and is described in town records as a representative example of Dutch Colonial Revival architecture. The gambrel roof is the giveaway, along with the prominent chimneys, multi-pane windows and Craftsman details.

The other half of the case for designation is the family. The Cudmores farmed the land and ran the Cudmore Market, later the Cudmore Garden Centre, for close to a century, and the family held the property for more than 100 years. The town also ties the house to Oakville's agricultural past and to some of the area's earliest settlers, calling it a reminder of the farming landscape that once covered much of Trafalgar Township.

The repeal application was filed by the former owner, Sandy Cudmore, who said in June that the designation was making the house harder to sell, citing the limits on changes and the effect that has on buyers. The property has changed hands since the application went in. Records show it sold in July for roughly $1.2 million, after past listings at about $1.6 million and about $2.4 million.