Walkerville's Willistead Manor
Documentary
Walkerville’s Willistead Manor: The Home That Shaped a Community is a documentary portrait of one of Windsor-Essex’s most iconic heritage landmarks—an Albert Kahn–designed Tudor Revival estate built in the early 1900s for Edward Chandler Walker, son of distiller Hiram Walker. Through the manor’s architectural details and layered past—spanning its original private-life era to its long role as a civic and cultural hub—the film explores how a single building helped shape the identity of Walkerville and the wider community.
Directed by Nicholas Shields and produced by Suede Productions, the documentary was created through extensive research and interviews with historians, architects, craftspeople, and Walker descendants, connecting the house’s design and legacy to the people who built it, preserved it, and continue to gather there today. The film premiered as part of Windsor International Film Festival programming, and its footage is also used on-site as part of the Willistead visitor experience—helping audiences experience the manor not only as a beautiful space, but as a living story of the community around it.
Walkerville's Willistead Manor
Documentary
Walkerville’s Willistead Manor: The Home That Shaped a Community is a documentary portrait of one of Windsor-Essex’s most iconic heritage landmarks—an Albert Kahn–designed Tudor Revival estate built in the early 1900s for Edward Chandler Walker, son of distiller Hiram Walker. Through the manor’s architectural details and layered past—spanning its original private-life era to its long role as a civic and cultural hub—the film explores how a single building helped shape the identity of Walkerville and the wider community.
Directed by Nicholas Shields and produced by Suede Productions, the documentary was created through extensive research and interviews with historians, architects, craftspeople, and Walker descendants, connecting the house’s design and legacy to the people who built it, preserved it, and continue to gather there today. The film premiered as part of Windsor International Film Festival programming, and its footage is also used on-site as part of the Willistead visitor experience—helping audiences experience the manor not only as a beautiful space, but as a living story of the community around it.
Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2
Walkerville's Willistead Manor
Documentary
Walkerville’s Willistead Manor: The Home That Shaped a Community is a documentary portrait of one of Windsor-Essex’s most iconic heritage landmarks—an Albert Kahn–designed Tudor Revival estate built in the early 1900s for Edward Chandler Walker, son of distiller Hiram Walker. Through the manor’s architectural details and layered past—spanning its original private-life era to its long role as a civic and cultural hub—the film explores how a single building helped shape the identity of Walkerville and the wider community.
Directed by Nicholas Shields and produced by Suede Productions, the documentary was created through extensive research and interviews with historians, architects, craftspeople, and Walker descendants, connecting the house’s design and legacy to the people who built it, preserved it, and continue to gather there today. The film premiered as part of Windsor International Film Festival programming, and its footage is also used on-site as part of the Willistead visitor experience—helping audiences experience the manor not only as a beautiful space, but as a living story of the community around it.
Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2
Walkerville's Willistead Manor
Documentary
Walkerville’s Willistead Manor: The Home That Shaped a Community is a documentary portrait of one of Windsor-Essex’s most iconic heritage landmarks—an Albert Kahn–designed Tudor Revival estate built in the early 1900s for Edward Chandler Walker, son of distiller Hiram Walker. Through the manor’s architectural details and layered past—spanning its original private-life era to its long role as a civic and cultural hub—the film explores how a single building helped shape the identity of Walkerville and the wider community.
Directed by Nicholas Shields and produced by Suede Productions, the documentary was created through extensive research and interviews with historians, architects, craftspeople, and Walker descendants, connecting the house’s design and legacy to the people who built it, preserved it, and continue to gather there today. The film premiered as part of Windsor International Film Festival programming, and its footage is also used on-site as part of the Willistead visitor experience—helping audiences experience the manor not only as a beautiful space, but as a living story of the community around it.
Walkerville's Willistead Manor
Documentary
Walkerville’s Willistead Manor: The Home That Shaped a Community is a documentary portrait of one of Windsor-Essex’s most iconic heritage landmarks—an Albert Kahn–designed Tudor Revival estate built in the early 1900s for Edward Chandler Walker, son of distiller Hiram Walker. Through the manor’s architectural details and layered past—spanning its original private-life era to its long role as a civic and cultural hub—the film explores how a single building helped shape the identity of Walkerville and the wider community.
Directed by Nicholas Shields and produced by Suede Productions, the documentary was created through extensive research and interviews with historians, architects, craftspeople, and Walker descendants, connecting the house’s design and legacy to the people who built it, preserved it, and continue to gather there today. The film premiered as part of Windsor International Film Festival programming, and its footage is also used on-site as part of the Willistead visitor experience—helping audiences experience the manor not only as a beautiful space, but as a living story of the community around it.