May 2024
The LC Powell Carriage Collection
Photo circa 1970 – taken at Casa Loma, Toronto
Lambert Clay Powell, generally known as Bert Powell, was born in Toronto in 1904 and died in Aurora, Ontario in 1988.
Bert had a variety of interests, from Scottish Dancing when he was young, to training and showing pigeons, to boxing (he was a Golden Glove winner), to lacrosse (he won the Mann Cup with Brampton Excelsiors in 1931), to dog training (he won best-in-breed with a Gordon Setter at the Morris and Essex Kennel Club in New Jersey in 1934). But almost certainly his greatest interest was horses.
Beginning in 1938, he began collecting carriages and sleighs, and accumulated more than 30 over the next 25-30 years. He was quoted in the 1960’s as saying “Some 25 years ago I became fascinated with a Gig which was on display in front of a garage at Cooksville, Ontario. Shortly afterwards, a friend told me of other carriages stored in a brick stable on St. Clair Avenue in Toronto, and my curiosity lead to this larger purchase. It is a matter of finding historical vehicles, research and proper restoring.”
In the late 1930’s and 1940’s, Bert stored the carriages in the barn and drive shed at his 10 acre farm “Lonely Acres” near the intersection of Leslie Street and Sheppard Avenue in Toronto (Todmorden ON). Then in the early 1950’s he bought a farm north of Toronto in King Township, where he and his wife Olivia Kathleen Powell (nee Dunn) moved in 1963.
In the meantime, he was approached by the management of Casa Loma in Toronto about loaning a number of his carriages to Casa Loma to be displayed in the magnificent barn on the grounds. Casa Loma is a unique castle built in the early 1900’s and remains to this day a Toronto landmark. Please note the1961 letter from Casa Loma estimating the value of the 13 carriages for insurance purposes. 10-15 carriages resided at Casa Loma from the mid 1950’s to the late 1990’s when they were returned to their owner. Upon the sale of Lonely Acres in the mid 1960’s, the remainder of the carriage collection was moved to the new Powell farm in King.
Bert Powell passed away in 1988, and upon the death of his wife Kathleen in 1992, the ownership of the collection transferred to his daughter Sandra Sillcox. Sandra and her husband Robert owned a 60 acre farm in King, Ontario and she built a purpose-built drive shed to store the carriages. Upon Sandra’s passing in 2008, ownership of the carriages passed to Sandy and Bob’s three adult children – Dana Dyment, Scott Sillcox and Paige Braunstein.
In 2024 the three siblings decided it was time to sell the collection. We would be delighted if there was a buyer who wanted to keep the entire collection together, but we realize this is highly unlikely and thus we expect to sell each piece individually.
The carriages have been well kept in so far as they have been stored indoors from the time each was purchased by Bert Powell between 1938 and the early 1960’s all the way to the present day. 19 of the carriages are in storage in a magnificent barn in King Ontario owned by Paige Sillcox, while 10 others are in another barn owned by Dana Dyment, also in King Ontario. The two farms are a 12-minute drive from one another.
From the 1950’s through the 1970’s, Bert Powell had select carriages painted and refurbished / upholstered, but this is very much an “as-is” sale. The bones of the carriages and sleighs are good, but almost every carriage is in need of at least some love and attention - some more than others. In an ideal world the buyer of each carriage would be able to see the carriage in person or arrange for a buyer’s rep to view the carriage in question. As sellers we would be happy to take whatever photos and videos are needed. Moving the carriages from King Ontario to each buyer’s destination of choice is for the buyer to arrange.
For information, please contact:
Scott Sillcox
Aurora (near Toronto), Ontario
Cell: 416-315-4736
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