Townsman, 1991-04, Page 31Restoring history
Marilyn Feagan brings
an old fire place back to life
Marilyn Feagan loves the old fireplace that she restored in her
Colborne Township farm home.
By Sandra Orr
There are people who cherished an
old brick home covered in ivy long
before it was in fashion, with a respect
for its elegance, irrespective of higher
heating costs and ongoing repair and
urge for change. Ever since Marilyn
Feagan and her husband Hugh moved
into their century old farm house in
1957, they have tried to preserve its
elegance rather than modernize its
appearance. Hugh and his son Peter
run a dairy operation near Carlow,
near Goderich.
Although Marilyn has not been able
to discover too much of the history of
the house, the two-storey structure
built on the centre hall plan with four
large bedrooms and staircase right up
to the attic has entranced her since her
marriage.
With the exception of the fireplace.
The old fireplace had been removed
and replaced with an angelstone one
because of the crumbling plaster.
"Hugh was afraid of fire," she says.
"The plaster was painted black and it
had an old brick hearth. But it was a
good fireplace and the chimney didn't
have to be replaced." However, Mari-
lyn was never happy with its modern
appearance and she longed for her
antique fireplace on cold autumn
nights.
In 1957, the house had no water and
no bathroom although it had hydro.
"When I had water coming out of the
tap," says Marilyn, "I thought I had
heaven." Marilyn was born and raised
in Colborne township and her family,
the Gardners, were farmers also. She
has one sister and one brother.
The house was built in the late 1870s
by someone who spared no expense,
but who apparently ran out of money
before it was finished. The ceilings on
both floors are 10 feet high. The halls
on both floors have an entrance door
with lights on all sides and a wooden
curve above. There are French doors
in the vestibule although upstairs
there was only one French door.
"I had the angelstone fireplace for 20
years and never really felt it suited the
house. I seriously wanted the old one
back in, so I stripped the wood around
the old fireplace which had at least
10 layers of paint. It took two or three
weeks to sand it, so much sanding that
my wrists were sore," says Marilyn.
The wood around the fireplace once
sanded was painted ivory and the
woodwork in the room was also paint-
ed ivory.
The new -old fireplace retains the
original firepot and original chimney
although the hearth has been replaced
with black marble and there is a black
marble surround.
The elegant windows in the house
were something which Marilyn never
wanted to change. They have 12
lights with a wooden curve above and
with sills about 10 inches deep,
because of brick walls four -layer
thick. Upstairs, the windows have the
same design, 12 lights with a top
TOWNSMAN/APRIL-MAY 1991 29