‘Time is of the essence’: Councillors to consider grant to save London’s Fugitive Slave Chapel

A fundraising effort for the historic building has already raised $85,000 of an estimated $300,000 needed to restore and relocate the building to Fanshawe Pioneer Village.

A letter from four London councillors will be presented at next week’s city council meeting requesting that they approve a grant to save London’s Fugitive Slave Chapel.

A fundraising effort for the historic building has already raised $85,000 of an estimated $300,000 needed to restore and relocate the building to Fanshawe Pioneer Village (FPV) from its current home in the city’s SoHo neighbourhood.

However, there are concerns that with the building’s deteriorating condition, the restoration work needs to happen before next winter.

A joint letter from London councillors Mohamed Salih, Shawn Lewis, Elizabeth Peloza and John Fyfe-Millar is proposing council to make a one-time commitment of $71,000 from the city’s Community Investment Reserve Fund to assist with the costs.

“Time is of the essence. The building is in poor shape. It needs some attention right away, and the goal of the folks at Fanshawe Pioneer Village is to get it moved in on a foundation before next winter arrives so that they can get the building envelope sealed, so no further damage happens and then they can start working on the restoration pieces,” Lewis said.

“I don’t think that it’s possible to understate the heritage importance of this building. This is the only sort of standing structure we have left from the beginning of the Black community establishing roots here in London, those fleeing slavery from the southern U.S. and arriving here via the Underground Railroad.”

Because of the time sensitivity of the project, Lewis noted it is not possible to seek money through a business case in the next budget update and that other revenue streams are also made more difficult.

“We’re asking council to use our own council’s community investment reserve fund. It’s a small reserve fund that’s there for the discretion of council to use for really, really time-sensitive, important things that don’t really fit anywhere else,” he said.