WHEELER, Gervase (c. 1815-1890) of Hartford, Conn. was among sixteen competitors who submitted a design in the international competition for the new St. James Anglican Cathedral in TORONTO, ONT. In 1849. Wheeler's scholarly design in the Early English style was complimented by the jury as one which was '.....superior in massiveness and general grandeur of effect' (The Church [Cobourg], 13 Sept. 1849, 26, descrip.). He presented two views of his proposal, the first a truncated view without a spire, and another with the completed tower and spire to accommodate the Building Committee's desire to undertake the project in phases. Despite the 'very noble appearance of the edifice' the drawings by Wheeler were later set aside and the plans by Cumberland & Ridout were selected as the winner.
Wheeler was born in London, England and emigrated to the United States after 1840. He opened an office in Hartford but by 1851 he had relocated in New York City where he designed several important institutional and residential works. He was also the author of three influential pattern books of designs for villas and homes for the suburbs and rural areas, and is now considered one of the originators of the American Stick style of residential design. He left the United States in 1860 and died in London on 1 January 1890 (biog. MacMillan Encyclopedia of Architects, 1982, iv, 388-9; H.R. Hitchcock, American Architectural Books, 1976, 113-14; R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, ii, 966). A monograph on this architect was recently published in 2012 entitled: Gervase Wheeler: A British Architect in America, by Renee Tribert & James O'Gorman.