- 254 RIDOUT ST. PORT HOPE, ONT.
- LOT SIZE: 33 by 165 feet
- ASKING PRICE: $299,000
- TAXES: $3,053
- AGENT: Sandy Segal, Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty, Cobourg
WHAT: The Richard Trick House, named for the mason who built the raised cottage for himself circa 1850, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
AMENITIES: The house has been expanded and renovated on the inside, while its heritage facade has been maintained.
The main level has a foyer, living room, dining room, bedroom and four-season sunroom overlooking the English-style gardens. Upstairs, the master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom.
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Beverly and Jim Welsh take living in a heritage house seriously.
Their dedication has paid off: Their homestead has been part of the local house and garden tours and been featured in the tome Old Ontario Houses by writer Tom Cruickshank and photographer John de Visser.
According to Mr. Cruickshank, their Regency cottage, which sits at the top of the hill that slopes down to central Port Hope, is one of the best of its kind in the town.
Richard Trick bought the land in 1850 and then built the house as a showcase for his craftsman's skills.
Mr. Cruickshank points to the quality of the brickwork: The transom above the door case comes to a Tudor-style pointed arch, the quoins emphasize the corners, and the textured pattern along the cornice demonstrate the skill of the mason.
When the Welshes purchased the house 15 years ago, they found that the previous owner had opened up the interior. She had removed a wall that divided the living room, dining room and foyer into separate spaces.
She also put in a central staircase.
Now the main living area receives lots of light from south-facing windows.
"It's an unusual Ontario cottage because it's raised," Ms. Welsh notes. "It makes the windows look more important and you also have more light."
Because the renovations were in keeping with the house's original appearance, it was designated as a heritage property under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1982.
Ms. Welsh says her research shows that the Trick family lived in the house for a few decades. And at one time, it was used as a store.
Mr. and Mrs. Welsh had been living a more rural life in another part of Ontario when they found the house on one of Port Hope's main streets. And while that end of Ridout Street is quiet and residential at the front of the house, the backyard is the area that appealed most from the start.
"We came in through the garden," says Ms. Welsh of their first visit to the house. They found a spacious interior where many original details had been preserved.
"We fell in love with it the minute we saw it," she says.
The basement has a wood-burning fireplace and, at one time, would have been where all of the cooking was done.
Upstairs, the master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet.
"At one time, a child slept in that room," says Ms. Welsh of the closet. "Life is different now."
The bathroom still contains the original claw-foot tub, but the fixtures and the Carrera marble countertop are recent.
"We did all of that for the house tour," Ms. Welsh says, laughing.
She says that maintaining a heritage house does bear some responsibility because so many people in Port Hope are interested in preservation.
"You take it on as your gift to the community," she says of opening the home's doors to the public for the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario in 2003.
Ms. Welsh's dining room has often served as a meeting room for her book club. On special occasions, she has entertained nearly a dozen people for dinner in the room, which still has the original wainscotting.
Preservation is very important to the community and Ms. Welsh has entertained local literary luminaries who were curious to see inside the house.
"Port Hope is really known for its pride in heritage homes," real estate agent Sandy Segal says.
Previous owners had extended the house at the back by adding a sunroom off the kitchen. French doors lead outside, where the rear of the house is surrounded by trees and perennial gardens.
"The best part of our house is the garden," Ms. Welsh says.
The foliage includes flowering hawthorne, mountain ash, corkscrew Hazel, a magnolia tree and "a big, old crabapple," according to Ms. Welsh.
The garden also features palest pink Angelique tulips, peonies, tree peonies, foxgloves and a beauty bush.
Ms. Welsh enjoys the house's location on the hill that leads into town.
"I love it on the main street because you really feel as if you're part of everything."
When the couple had the exterior of the house painted, for example, passersby kept up a stream of conversation with the painter and commented on his progress along the way.
"When you walk down the street, you always speak, and you certainly know [when you see] a stranger," says Ms. Welsh.
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