Loading...
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