The Thomas Foster Memorial Temple
Situated on a hill in rolling countryside, five to six kilometers north of Uxbridge, the Thomas Foster Memorial is
easily visible from the west, south and east. Both its position and unique
design command one's atten&hy;tion. It's structure was inspired by the Taj
Mahal which is just outside of Agra, India. The Emperor Shah Jehen built the
latter temple in 1650 as a burial place for his favorite wife. It is the
greatest masterpiece of Indian architecture.
Thomas Foster went to the Toronto architectural firm of Craig and Madill with
the proposal to build a similar structure for the resting place of his wife,
his daughter Ruby, and himself. At the same time, it was to be used by the
community for burials. A removable slab in the floor would allow for coffins to
be lowered to crypts below for storage. This structure was to cost $100,000,
and was to be placed next to the small cemetery where his ancestors were
buried. By the time the building was completed, it had cost Foster twice as
much as the original estimate of the architects.
The Eastern architecture, -and the worship of pagan gods, did not lend
itself to this area, so the early Christian Church of the Byzantine influence
was chosen instead. The dome, resting on four pendentives or supports
bet&hy;ween arches, and this period displayed more embellishments. Thus,
the Foster Memorial is a totally unique and original structure.
The broad, octagonal, terraced base on which the building rests, is 87
feet in width and 92 feet in length. (The structure itself is 55 feet in width
and 60 feet in length.) It builds up by stages of vertical wall, semi-dome
drum, and a great central dome to the gilded finial. The perfect form of
architecture, that of the pyramid, was the fundamental motif for the design.
From the ground below the terrace to top of the finial on the cen&hy;tral
dome is a height of sixty feet, and the inside diameter of the dome is
twenty-three feet.
The masonry of variegated Indiana limestone is enriched with carving at the
windows and cornice lines. The design builds up with just enough emphasis from
wall to roof to mark the change in materials. The thrust of the four great
internal arches below the central dome is carried on piers at the four corners.
These piers are weighted by carved stone finials sur&hy;mounted with brass
caps. The transepts and apse are three-sided without and semi-circular within.
Facing the west, and providing the entrance motif, the portico, resting upon
three arches, supported by monolithic columns, is enriched with in&hy;cised
carving.
Weighted buttresses capped with bronze reinforce the flanks of the portico. The
roof surfaces are of copper tile, chemically treated to produce a permanent
green surface. The entrance doors, window tracery, and all metal parts are of
bronze
The windows, the work of Yvonne Williams, are of hand-painted, fired and
leaded glass, the colours and designs are harmonious, and are distributed so as
to flood the interior with soft, col&hy;ourful light.
The floors are of rich-coloured terrazzo and marble mosaics, wrought in
symbolic designs. On entering, one crosses the River of Death, on which floats
water lilies and lily pads. The motion that underlies the work of the Creator
is suggested in the general design of the floor beneath the great dome. This
motion, typifying life, radiates from the Greek letters, "Alpha and
Omega", which in turn flank the "Chi Rho" monogram in its early
Byzantine form. The laurel wreath of victory over death encircles the central
motif.
Under each of the four great arches, a marble screen with balustrades separates
the crossing from transepts, apse and nave. Sixteen marble col&hy;umns,
four to each screen supporting three arches with pierced marble tympanum above,
are features of the interior. The columns are in vari&hy;coloured Italian
marbles with carved Devon stone capitals and desserets. Each capital differs
from its neighbours and is carved with the heraldic symbol of one of the saints
or apostles. The marble altar in the east is ap&hy;proached from the raised
apse by three travertine steps. The high marble reredos emblazoned with gold
cross and I.H.S. monograms, is a departure from the canopied altar of the early
church, but more in keeping with the scale of this structure and the present day
form of Christian service. The pulpit is of Rocherons marble with an incised
carved frieze and inlay of gold mosaic.
The southern transept contains three family sarcophagi. Above each sarcophagus
is a memorial window bearing a modest memorial shield. The crypt contains six
compartments for winter burials.
A dado of Bois-Jourdain gray marble shot with red, and inlaid with gold mosaic
surrounds the interior. The same marble is used in window reveals and
surrounds. The pedantries under the dome, the soffits and returns of the great
arches, are in glass mosaics, in conventional floral and geometric designs in
harmonious and brilliant colours. The acoustical ceiling is of azure blue.
Above, the drum of the dome is pierced with twelve stained glass, leaded windows,
that in the east being in the form of a gold cross on a rich blue ground.
Circling the lower part of the dome, above the great ar&hy;ches in gold
lettering on a field of graded blue mosaic, is the inscription: "Take this
my body for it is done and I have gained a new life, glorious and
eternal".
The Foster Memorial Mausoleum is open to the public on the first and third
Sunday from June to September, in the afternoon
