In early 1854 he became apprenticed to Scottish architect William Hay,[3] who was a specialist in gothic architecture and worked in Toronto in the 1850s.

[4] During his seven-year apprenticeship, he worked with Hay on some of the oldest buildings and structures in Toronto, including St.

He accepted and quickly became the firm's primary designer with Gundry shouldering most of the business side of the company.

However, he was assisted during those years by two talented apprentices who later became well known architects in Toronto: Frank Darling and his nephew Edmund Burke.

His son, architect Charles Edward Langley, worked with him during the last 14 years of his life.