101 years, 1 house: London centenarian given heritage award for care of lifelong home

A London woman who lived in the same house in the city's Carling Heights neighbourhood for 101 years before selling it last fall has been recognized for her long stewardship of the property.

Last week, Annie Biddle was presented with a commendation by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the Heritage London Foundation during the 2025 London Heritage Awards at Museum London.

"Annie Biddle did not set out to preserve a heritage building," the commendation reads, "but in an era when the average homeowner stays five to seven years, she cared for a residence that, under her stewardship, aged into a heritage house, which is something rare and extraordinary."

Biddle had lived in the home, located at 66 Boullee St., since 1923. In September, she sold her lifelong home for $400,000, according to HouseSigma.

"It was quite a shock when I moved, you know, because, I'd been in that little old house for all those years," she told CBC News recently. "You hate to give it up, but it comes a point where you need help, and you can't expect people to run in and out all the time."

Biddle's nomination came from a member of the community after she was profiled in September in the London Free Press, said Susan Bentley, the chair of the London Heritage Award committee.

"It just seemed like an extraordinary achievement and situation, so we just wanted to acknowledge it," Bentley said. Biddle attended the awards ceremony in person, along with several family members.

"It was quite a thrill," Biddle said. "I was afraid I was going to have to get up and make a speech, though, and I'm not good at doing that."

When some think of heritage awards, mansions and "important buildings" often come to mind, she said. "But, everyone's house is important to them … As she lived in the house, it aged into a heritage house, in a way."

Biddle was 13 months old when her parents, John and Mary, moved into the home, built in what was a new post-war subdivision. 

Census records show Biddle's father, who emigrated from England as a child in 1907, and mother wed in 1921 when the two were in their early 20s. Annie came along the next year, followed by two more daughters over the next several years.

Growing up, Biddle says her father worked for the railway, as did most of the men on the street. She and the other neighbourhood children played and went to school together, and says the street, like others in London, was unpaved and became muddy in the spring.

"Times were tough. When I was a little kid, we didn't have an awful lot ... Wages weren't like they are today," she said. "My Dad had one brother, lived out west, and he came down one year for holiday, and he worked on the railroad. Well, he gave each of us kids $1 bill. We thought we had a million dollars."

Biddle stayed in the home because "I had no other place I wished to go," and says it was tough to see the neighbourhood change over time. "All of a sudden, it's kaput."