Memorable Manitobans: Walter Chesterton (1845-1931)

Architect, artist.

Born at Kensington, England in 1845, he was educated at private schools before studying at the South Kensington School of Arts. He worked in London for nine years before emigrating to Canada in 1870, where he practiced as an architect at Montreal and Ottawa, designing at the latter place the post office, customs and inland revenue buildings, a church, and various businesses and homes. He moved to Winnipeg in 1881 and was soon after joined by a Mr. McNichol in the architectural firm of Chesterton and McNichol until 1890, after which he practiced alone until around 1901 when he returned to Ottawa. He and wife Martha Sophia Ashworth (1850-1928) had three children: Cyril Ashworth Chesterton (1878-?), Copley Walter Chesterton (1879-1965, son-in-law of Peter B. H. Ramsay), and Lillian S. Chesterton (1880-?). A noted painter, Chesterton’s work was exhibited frequently at the Art Association of Montreal. He died at his Ottawa home on 13 November 1931.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Vaughan Street Gaol	444 York Avenue, Winnipeg	1881-1883
H. N. Ruttan House	Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1881
H. M. Drummond House	River Avenue, Winnipeg	1882
A. C. Killam House	St. Boniface West	1882
John B. McKilligan House	Donald Street, Winnipeg	1882
Leacock House	442 Scotia Street, Winnipeg	1882
Francis B. Robinson House	Edmonton Street, Winnipeg	1885
William Hatton House	Donald Street, Winnipeg	1887
Brandon Reformatory for Boys (Brandon Asylum for the Insane)	First Street, Brandon	1890	Destroyed by fire (November 1910)
Fort Rouge School	River Avenue, Winnipeg	1891	Demolished (?)
Stonewall School No. 108	Stonewall	1891	Demolished (1957)
Glenboro School No. 512	Glenboro	1892	Demolished (?)
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church	Ninth Avenue South, Virden	1892
Virden School	Ninth Avenue South, Virden	1892	Demolished (?)
W. W. McLeod House	Broadway, Winnipeg	1892
William A. Black House	Edmonton Street, Winnipeg	1893
George V. Hastings House	Donald Street, Winnipeg	1893	Demolished (?)
Lauchlan A. Hamilton House	Assiniboine Avenue, Winnipeg	1894
Monk House	134 West Gate, Winnipeg	1895
Waghorn House / Bain House	69 East Gate, Winnipeg	1896
Tupper House	145-155 East Gate, Winnipeg	1896
A. W. Ross House	Fort Rouge, Winnipeg	1890s
George L. Lindsay House	Donald Street, Winnipeg	1899
Rockley Kaye / Wood House	86 West Gate, Winnipeg	1901	Demolished (1989)
John F. Bain House	Roslyn Road, Winnipeg	1901
Douglas A. Clark House	Roslyn Road, Winnipeg	1903
St. John the Baptist Anglican Church	252 Hamilton Street, Manitou	1903
Manitou Normal School	Main Street, Manitou	1903	Demolished (1990s)

Sources:

The Canadian Architect and Builder, Volume 10, Issue 1, page 4, 1897.

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Marriage registration [C. A. Chesterton], Ancestry.

Death registration [M. S. Chesterton], Ancestry.

Death registration [C. W. Chesterton], BC Archives Genealogy.

“W. Chesterton, first prairie architect, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 November 1931, page 1.

“Walter Chesterton expires at Ottawa,” Manitoba Free Press, 16 November 1931, page 18.

Buildings at the Brandon Mental Health Centre by David Butterfield and Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch, November 1988.

Winnipeg Building Index

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank Pat Thomson for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 December 2021

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!