BABINGTON, Edwin Ralph (1848-1914) was born in Greenwich, Co. Kent, England on 25 January 1848 and was brought to Canada by his parents in 1857. He received his education at the Western Ontario School of Art & Design in London, Ont. where he obtained prizes in model sketching and machine drawing in 1885 (Daily Advertiser [London], 24 Jan. 1885, 4). He moved to Toronto in early 1886 and trained under George R. Harper before accepting an appointment as Superintendent of Drawing and Designing at the Toronto Art School (London Free Press, 8 Jan. 1887, 3). That same year he was presented with a Medal by the Governor General for his mechanical drawings exhibited at the Colonial Exhibition in London, England (London Free Press, 21 May 1887, 12).
He opened an office in Toronto in 1888 and was active as an architect and as a teacher at both the Toronto Art School, where he served as principal in 1889-90, and at the Toronto Technical School, where he taught from 1892 to 1900. He was active in the Kew. Beach neighbourhood of east Toronto, where it was reported in 1902 that “.....Kew Beach is a happy hunting ground for an architect like Mr. Babington, with a genius for the bizarre, or contortionist in house styles” (Toronto Daily Star, 3 May 1902, 10 and 17 May 1902, 2). Babington practised until 1912 and died in Toronto on 28 October 1914 (obituary and photo portrait in the Toronto Telegram, 30 Oct. 1914, 16; obituary Canadian Engineer, xxvii, 5 Nov. 1914, 628; inf. Barbara Myrvold, Toronto)
(works in Toronto unless noted)
PARKDALE, a brick residence on Cowan Avenue, for an unnamed client, 1891 (C.R., ii, 25 July 1891, 11)
FARLEY AVENUE, five houses for William H. Compton, 1894 (Toronto World, 31 March 1894, 5; C.R., v, 5 April 1894, 2)
SPADINA AVENUE, near Cecil Street, warehouse for James Blackey, 1894 (Toronto b.p. 1735, 27 Aug. 1894)
YONGE STREET, near Wellington Street, shop front and alterations to retail store, 1895 (Toronto b.p. 1817, 8 Jan. 1895)
KEW BEACH, south of Queen Street East, three cottages for Richard S. Williams, 1900 (C.R., xi, 11 April 1900, 4)
BLOOR STREET WEST, near Westmoreland Avenue, retail store for Gilbert H. Bowen, 1900 (C.R., xi, 11 April 1900, 4)
KEW BEACH, south of Queen Street East, 15 new houses on Leuty Avenue, and Violet Street, for Mr Williamson, house builder, 1902 (Toronto Daily Star, 3 May 1902, 10)
KEW BEACH, south of Queen Street East, residence for William F. Dineen, at 32 Leuty Avenue, 1902; still standing in 2023 (Toronto Daily Star, 26 July 1902, 13)
(attributed) KEW BEACH, south of Queen Street East, a stone residence at 30 Lee Avenue, opposite Violet Avenue, for Mr. Kew Williams, 1902; still standing in 2024 (Globe & Mail (Toronto), 23 Sept. 2005, G1, illus.; inf. Barbara Myrvold, Toronto)
(attributed) KEW BEACH, south of Queen Street East, residence for Harry Hughes, at 11 Lee Avenue, near Alfresco Lawn Street, c. 1904: still standing in 2024 and also known as “Blarney Castle” (inf. Barbara Myrvold, Toronto)
YORK COUNTY COURT HOUSE, Adelaide Street East near Church Street, alterations, 1903 (C.R., xiii, 31 Dec. 1902, 2)
ADDISON & MAINPRICE CO., Pearl Street near Duncan Street, office and factory, 1905 (Toronto b.p. 548, 10 April 1905)
KEW BEACH, retail store for Charles E. Scadding, Queen Street East at Leuty Avenue, 1906 (City of Toronto, Heritage Designation Statement, 28-29 May 1990)
GRANITE CURLING CLUB, Church Street north of Wellesley Street East, major addition, 1906; later altered in 1914 by Curry & Sparling; still standing in 2021 and now called The 519 Church Street Community Centre (Toronto b.p. 3014, 2 March 1906)
WESTON, ONT., Sanitary Packing Co., factory, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 10 April 1907, 4)
WHITE-ALLAN CO., Sherbourne Street north of King Street East, major 3 storey addition to factory, 1907 (Toronto World, 20 July 1907, 10, descrip.; C.R., xviii, 24 July 1907, 8)
MANNING AVENUE, residence for William Hall, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 10 April 1907, 6, t.c.)
STOUFFVILLE, ONT., indoor ice rink for the Stouffville Skating & Curling Club, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 5 June 1907, 2; Aurora Banner, 21 June 1907, 1, descrip.)
MARKHAM STREET, near Bloor Street West, residence for H. George Langley, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 5 June 1907, 4, t.c.)
ACME DAIRY, Essex Street, for R.W. Dockeray, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 13 March 1907, 6, t.c.)
BELMONT STREET, west of Yonge Street, a row of four houses at No. 66-74 Belmont Street, for W.E. Hunter, 1907; later restored by Joan Burt, Architect, c. 1970 (City of Toronto, Heritage Designation Statement, 6 Feb. 2019)
PARLIAMENT STREET, near Wellesley Street East, a pair of semi-detached houses for R.F. Paterson, 1908 (Const., i, Sept. 1908, 67)
QUEEN STREET EAST, near Balmy Beach, an Episcopal Church, 1908 (Const., i, Sept. 1908, 67; C.R., xxii, 7 Oct. 1908, 26)
LEE AVENUE, two pairs of houses for William N. McEachren, 1909 (Const., ii, March 1909, 66)
QUEEN STREET EAST, near Kew Beach, three stores and apartments for Cecil Lee, 1909 (Const., ii, March 1909, 65)
WHITE CO., Adelaide Street East near Sherbourne Street, factory, 1912 (Toronto b.p. 34537, 5 June 1912)
OSHAWA, ONT., residence for George A. Williams, Simcoe Street North at Aberdeen Street, 1909-10, but building later moved eastward to Aberdeen Street at Masson Street, and still standing in 2018 (dwgs. in the possession of Ms. Van Mil-Goguen, Oshawa; inf. Barbara Myrvold, Toronto Public Library)