"I visited Canada... in the south west of England!"

SWNS

A Toronto-based couple discovered a taste of home while visiting England- a chapel owned and run by Canadian authorities.  Kirsten Mairi, 32, and her English-born partner, Joel Prowting, 30, were visiting Joel's family in Swindon, Wiltshire, between August 25 and September 6.  Kirsten is a history content creator so was already aware of this Canadian site based in England and suggested that the family go for a visit.  On August 30, Kirsten, Joel and his family travelled down to Devon and visited Wolford Chapel- a site owned and run by the Ontario Heritage Trust.

Transcript

00:00I bet you didn't know that you can visit Canada in England?

00:03Yep, that's right. I went all the way to England and still managed to find a hidden piece of

00:07Toronto's history. This is Wolford Chapel, located in southwest England, but it's actually

00:12officially Canadian territory. Ha, take that England, we got some of your land this time.

00:17The address on Google Maps confirms its address is being in Ontario, despite being an ocean away.

00:22It is the resting place of John Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada,

00:26though not this massive grave, which I found a bit strange.

00:29The property has been maintained by the Ontario Heritage Trust since 1966.

00:33John, his wife Elizabeth, and two of their children arrived in Canada in the late 1700s.

00:38They established a new capital here, which would become the Toronto that we know today.

00:42After their relatively short stint in Upper Canada,

00:45the Simcoe family returned to England and lived at Wolford Lodge on Wolford Estate.

00:50On land, I need to add, he only had because of his wife Elizabeth's inheritance.

00:55This was their family chapel. They were loaded, obviously.

00:58And if you didn't know, now you know that you

01:00can visit Canada on your next trip to the countryside of England.

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