107 Thompson Road

The Details

Very rarely does an estate property of this calibre combining exceptionally well-thought-out design, historical elements, and exquisite landscaping come to market. 107 Thompson Road is a unique country estate set across 117 acres of rolling land, located just north of the village of Grafton in Northumberland County and just minutes to Ste Anne’s Spa. Designed by architect Jamie Wright, with interior design assistance from Sarah Richardson, the house exudes elegance, attention to detail and sophistication throughout.

The house is an 1837 formal 5-bay Georgian log building with a modern architect-designed addition to the rear. Once a tavern, the log structure originally stood in the Roseville community near Kitchener before it was dismantled and moved to this site. The logs are hand-hewn white pine, some up to 25” tall, with dovetailed corners and a wonderful aged patina. The log structure is a full two storeys tall, which is most unusual in historic log construction. The modern 1 storey addition tastefully incorporates many elements of architectural salvage, and the 2 structures blend seamlessly together to make a remarkable home with plenty of room for entertaining on a large scale and intimate spaces perfect for smaller gatherings. The house is entirely furnished with Canadian and American antiques, which were lovingly collected by the owners over the years. Most of the furnishings are available to purchase under a separate agreement.

The white clapboard garage building is a  post-and-beam former Presbyterian church erected in 1847 in the town of Norwich, Ontario. When a larger church was needed in the 1870s, it was converted to a private residence and continued to be used that way until it was dismantled and moved to 107 Thompson Road. The beams, mouldings, trim and clapboard siding are all original, the windows new but following the original design. The building is remarkably spacious and bright and easily transforms into a beautiful event space – it once served as the venue for a family wedding.

The property surrounding the home includes extensive landscaped gardens, a Betz-designed lap swimming pool with a hot tub featuring an infinity edge, and a charming garden shed/pool house. The perennial gardens were installed more than 20 years ago and have been meticulously maintained over the years. They contain an impressive array of plant material and are a delight for the senses from early spring through to late fall. There is also a large formal kitchen garden, anchored with lilac standards, peonies and a selection of fruit bearing shrubs to attract the birds, but with plenty of open space for annual plantings of vegetables and/or flowers for cutting.

The house and gardens have been featured in numerous publications over the years, including cover stories in both Canadian House and Home and Gardening Life, as well as feature articles in Gardenmaking and the US magazine Country Home, and in the Globe and Mail. The house has been described as “the ultimate country house” in Canadian House and Home and the gardens merited a 10-page spread in the 2011 book The Private Gardens of the Northumberland Hills.

The property is a year-round sanctuary of peace and quiet. Most of it is covered with second growth forests which are carpeted with trillium and other wildflowers every spring.  The entire property is accessible via a network of private walking trails that were last groomed and updated in the fall of 2022. 107 Thompson Road is minutes away from St. Anne’s Spa, the beaches of Lake Ontario and the shops, restaurants and farm stands/ farmers’ markets in Grafton, Cobourg and Port Hope. It’s only an hour and twenty-minute drive from Toronto or a twenty minute car ride from the Via Rail station in Cobourg.