The long story of the Guild Inn, a Guildwood Village classic

I was telling a client the other day about an area that I thought she should consider as she is moving from the Beach.  The Guildwood Village was the area I suggested to her and she mentioned The Guild Inn

The elegant inn I visited many times in the 80's and 90's. 

The Guild Inn was a magical place, a placed of romance, filled with charm and mystery. The grounds were stunning, many festivals and events would take place in the grounds, it was 

a wonderful location for walks and for the impromptus picnics that would plan with my young daughter on warm summer days.

I used to live in The Guilwood Village in the 90's and when friends of mine came to visit Toronto, they would stayed there or we would go there for dinner.

The history of Guildwood Village revolves around The Guild Inn so I will start my conversation of  Guilwood Village today,  by telling you about this colorful, magical and historical place.

The Guild Inn was built on top of the Scarborough Bluffs in 1914. At that time it was known as the Bickford house.

The core of the Inn itself was the summer country home for American soldier Coronel Harold C. Bickford.  He built his house in 1914 , with stables for his horses and a garage for his cars. It was a perfect spot on the edge of the Scarborough Bluffs, on beautifully forested land with stunning views of Lake Ontario.

Bickford sold the home in 1921, and the building then became a house for Roman Catholic missionaries that were destined for China. After that it became the home of a wealthy businessman. It then sat empty for a few years, until it was purchased by Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson, .

 In 1932 Rosa met Spencer Clark, a young man who shared her vision. They got married and began “The Guild of All Arts”. 

Rosa and Spencer invited artists and craftspeople to "the Guild of All Arts". The artist were provided room and board in their home, in return for sharing their work and skills with the Guild and its visitors. 

Some of the original 40 acres of the guild lands were then converted to vegetable gardens and growing fields in order to produce food on site and as cheaply as possible to feed the guest.

The arts and crafts never made as much money as they had hoped, but much of the art and furniture at the Guild was produced on site. 

The Clarks invested their wealth on the place , converting Bickford’s stables and garages into studio buildings, they built new cottages and studios, and purchased hundreds of acres of additional surrounding land. 

So many visitors came that the Clarks began to develop an Inn, so they moved out of the original Bickford house in 1934 to make room for guests.  

The inn was at extended dramatically during the late ’30s and early ’40s to accommodate the growing guests.

During World War II, the Inn was turned into a training facility for the Woman's Naval Service. At the end of the war, the property was requisitioned as a specialized military hospital specializing in the treatment of personnel suffering from nervous disorders and was known as 'Scarborough Hall'.

The property was returned to the Clarks in 1947, and they re-established the Guild of All Arts and continued to run the Inn. Unfortunately 7 years later because of the increase of property taxes, the couple was forced to sell 400 acres where The Guilwood Village was developed in 1954.

The Clarks kept 90 acres and continued to develop, to add buildings and monuments to the grounds and then in 1968, they added further renovations including the pool.

In 1978 the Guild was purchased by the government of Ontario and the city of Toronto and the Inn continued.

Spencer Clark continued to run the Inn as a hotel until 1984. At that time the conservation authority took over, overseeing the land and protecting the shore.

Delta Hotels started managing the hotel in 1984, Clark died in 1986 and the CN Hotels took over in 1987 but the lease was not renewed when CN hotels were sold.

In 1988 Giant Step Realty, who had big plans for the property, took a 99 year lease on the property but the Residence Association of Guildwood Village opposed it and unfortunately the hotel was neglected by the new owners, it was so sad to see the neglect and in 1993 the Inn was finally closed.

In 1999 the park was named a heritage property by the Heritage Canada Foundation.

The restaurant which was still running was finally closed as well and the public only had access to the park after that.

In 2001 Artscape approached the community which was met with interest at the time and many events took place on the grounds at the time.

In 2008 Centennial College was approved by the city to manage the hotel and run courses for hotel and rest but at that time a fire destroyed the studio, which had been the former stable of the Bickfords

The demolition of the hotel tower was approved in 2009 and an application from Centennial college to build a residence was denied. 

Friends of the Guild Park and gardens was formed to help save it in 2014.

The city in 2015 announced that Dynamic hospitality would open a special event venue in the site and the 16 million dollar project is on its way. Perhaps now this incredible place is poised to finally rise from the ashes.