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Posted Jun 20, 2013, 5:22 PM
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Ancaster’s historic Hermitage ruins set to come down
(Ancaster News, Richard Leitner, June 20 2013)
Against the advice of its own heritage consultant, the Hamilton Conservation Authority is proposing to lower the walls of Ancaster’s decaying Hermitage ruins to “a safe height.”
Director of land management Tony Horvat said the plan, estimated to cost between $125,000 and $190,000, is the most affordable and sustainable way to preserve the remnants of the 1855 stone mansion, destroyed by a 1934 fire.
Acquired by the authority in 1972, the Sulphur Springs Road ruins have seen a continued decline because of their exposure to the elements and will likely topple over in three to five years if nothing is done, he said.
They are presently fenced to try to keep visitors out and the 35-foot-high walls (10.7 metres) appear to lean precariously in spots even with bracing to keep them in place.
The proposal requires a more detailed study but would likely reduce their height to two metres, possibly lower, and allow the ruins to be reopened to the public.
“This was never a structure that was meant to be a free-standing thing out in the wild. It was part of a house, it was heated from the inside, it was maintained,” Horvat said during a tour with members of the authority’s conservation advisory board.
“For over 50 years, it’s been freezing from all sides, water and everything’s been attacking it. We keep trying to seal it, but it’s a very tough thing,” he said, estimating the authority has spent $200,000 on the ruins over the years.
“It’s becoming unsafe because the original lime mortar is disintegrating; it’s leaching out of the walls, partly because of the frost and water getting into it.”
The authority proposal is considerably cheaper than the option favoured by Guelph-based PJ Materials Consultants, an expert on heritage restorations whose work includes the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.
As “a minimum intervention,” it recommended restoring the existing walls of the main house and two secondary buildings at a cost of $365,000 to $600,000.
But the firm preferred “a maximum restoration” that would run an estimated $535,000 to $940,000 and stabilize the ruins for at least 35 years.
The authority proposal closest mirrors an option rejected by PJ Materials as “an extreme form of intervention” that runs contrary to federal standards for the conservation of historic sites and Ontario Heritage Act bylaws that apply to the ruins.
But Horvat said the more costly options are beyond the authority’s financial means and there are several examples in southern Ontario of lowering ruins, like the DeCou House in Thorold, which played a key role in the War of 1812.
He said the authority plan, which requires a city permit, will help reestablish the ruins as a visitor destination in an area that also includes two other heritage structures, the Griffin House and nearby Gatehouse Museum.
“We can’t ignore it in its current state. We’ve got to do something,” Horvat said, noting trespassers are ignoring the fencing and climbing the walls’ braces. “We have people posting on the Internet pictures of themselves on the tops of the walls.”
The advisory committee backed the proposal, albeit with some reservations.
“I have a problem with saying we can’t afford to do the complete renovations at a million dollars,” authority director Duke O’Sullivan said, suggesting the authority could borrow the money at a reasonable rate.
“To say we can’t do it because we don’t have the money for a heritage site I think is a narrow approach.”
But Horvat said full restoration will require the ruins to be addressed again in 35 years or sooner because the same erosion will occur.
“Hamilton is in a medium earthquake zone. We get a good shake of this thing and it’s coming down,” he said. “There’s a lot of technical reasons that I think make any restoration at the full height an iffy prospect.”
Advisory board member John Shaw said he believes visitors will still get the same impression of the structure under the authority plan.
“It’s really trying to illustrate to the visitor, ‘This is what was here,’ and it is ruins,” he said. “It’s identified as ruins when you walk in. You’re not expecting a full-storey structure, necessarily.”
The proposal is scheduled to go to the authority’s board of directors in July and if they give the go-ahead, Horvat said he will report on progress on a detailed design for the project and required permit approvals by the end of the year.
Chief administrative officer Chris Firth-Eagland said the authority has held preliminary discussions with Hamilton’s municipal heritage committee and it appears receptive.
He said although the ruins are visually “quite stunning,” there are other authority sites of far more historical significance requiring attention, like the Darnley Grist Mill by Crooks’ Hollow in Greensville, a former industrial hub that predated Hamilton.
“It’s going to fall in the river,” he said. “It’s truly a significant piece of history that as a group we should try to tackle with what’s the right way to manage that for future generations.”
Hermitage History At A Glance
1793 – 162-acre property deeded to Henry Chrysler by Crown
1826 – Ancaster’s first Presbyterian minister, Rev. George Sheed, builds frame manse on land
1833 – Retired British officer Otto Ives purchases site and renames it The Hermitage
1855 – purchased by George Leith, who builds stone mansion as summer home and hobby farm
1902 – purchased by Leith’s eccentric daughter, Alma, from siblings for $5,500. She lets livestock wander in and out of mansion
1934 – mansion destroyed by fire but Alma continues living there until her death, in 1942, in one-room cabin built inside the ruins’ walls
1948 – property sold by her heirs to private buyer
1972 – conservation authority acquires site
1973-74 – 20 acres around ruins designated as historic area
1990 – ruins and nearby gatehouse get historic designation
2007 – site put on city’s List of Designated Heritage Properties and Heritage Easements under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Source: Hamilton Conservation Authority
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"Where architectural imagination is absent, the case is hopeless." - Louis Sullivan
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