A grand home for a ton of books

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3746 Highway 1, Annapolis Royal, N.S.

Asking price: $3,750,000

Taxes: $9,651 (2022)

Lot size: 382.5 acres

Agent: Angie Bryant, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

The backstory

Nicholas Hoare and Margot Stevenson recall the day they peered through the window of a Victorian-era building on Front Street East in Toronto and knew it had the character they were seeking for a new, independent bookstore.

The couple had already established locations beloved by bibliophiles in Montreal. In Toronto, they finished the interior with custom bookcases, a library ladder, a hand-curated selection of books and a comfortable sofa in front of the fireplace.

They opened their doors under the banner Nicholas Hoare in 1989.

Eighteen years ago, Mr. Hoare and Ms. Stevenson began to look towards their eventual retirement. Their challenge at that time was to find a home that could accommodate a collection of books, music, antique furniture and fine art.

“The books weigh literally a ton and we had 20,000 of them,” says Mr. Hoare.

Ms. Stevenson spotted a tiny newspaper ad for a grand stone house sitting on more than 300 acres in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.

American industrialist Edwin Fickes had built the house as a safe haven when he saw the storm clouds gathering over Europe between the two world wars.

What caught Ms. Stevenson’s eye was the construction: The monumental building, completed in 1935, had walls fortified by three layers of construction, massive cement footings and tough steel girders supporting all three floors.

“He wasn’t settling for any old house – it had to be virtually bomb proof,” says Mr. Hoare. “It’s a fortress. It’s Gibraltar.”

The couple made a one-day trip to Nova Scotia for a tour of the property.

They found a handsome house with a stone exterior and an interior that looked like a hospital – a very rundown hospital, says Mr. Hoare, explaining that the structure had been left to languish by a previous owner who was mainly interested in the land.

Even in a neglected state, the couple could see the building would have the size and heft to support their substantial collections of rarities and first editions – many of which Mr. Hoare inherited from his father, who was a publisher and bookseller in England.

“We took one look at it – just like the store in Toronto,” says Mr. Hoare. “We knew this house could be the repository for our bits and pieces.”

The couple delayed the renovation while they remained immersed in reviewing and selling books for a few more years.

As they wound down the business, they shuttered the shops in Montreal and Ottawa. The Toronto flagship closed in 2013.

At that time, the couple moved to Annapolis Royal with their young daughter to tackle the restoration of the house, says Mr. Hoare.

“We brought it out of the mothballs with a vengeance.”

The house today

The restoration of a building riddled with problems seemed overwhelming, Ms. Stevenson says, recalling their discovery of a puddle of water on one floor and a wall covered in mold.

They began by tearing it all apart, then spent more than five years putting it back together.

Along the way, they dug into the home’s history. They learned that Mr. Fickes, a bigwig at aluminum giant Alcoa Inc., in Pittsburgh, had hired a local Nova Scotia architect to create his refuge.

During construction, the architect informed the tycoon that the amount of stone needed wasn’t available for purchase.

“Go and buy the mountain, said Fickes and hung up on him,” recounts Mr. Hoare. “And they did. They bought the hillside.”

Mr. Hoare adds that the L-shaped structure was divided into two portions, with a main house and separate quarters for servants.

“This maniac decided that he wanted two houses,” says Mr. Hoare. “One of the first things we did was hook up the two.”

The challenge was to find matching stone. Eventually, the couple tracked down a source through a stone mason whose father was one of the 14 masons who worked on the original house.

As the job continued, many of the artisans the couple hired turned out to be descendants of the original craftsmen.

“The whole house is a community effort,” says Ms. Stevenson.

Today the 7,570-square-foot house has five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Guests arrive to a spacious foyer with a gracious staircase winding up to the landing above.

The living room has wood-panelled walls, a fireplace and large bay windows overlooking the grounds.

The main floor also has a kitchen and pantry with painted wood cabinets and open shelves. There’s a large dining room and a library.

Upstairs, the five bedrooms have been redesigned with new bathrooms and walk-in closets. There’s also a family room with a beamed ceiling on that level.

The painters spent 18 months transforming the interior with paints imported from Holland, Mr. Hoare says.

Throughout the house, many of the bookshelves and stand-alone cabinets would be familiar to the customers of the Front Street store, he adds.

Outside, the grounds include an apple orchard, woodlands and meadows.

During work on the landscaping, the couple came across mysterious pipes poking up out of the grass.

That’s when they discovered the pipes were the air vents for the labyrinth of cisterns and tunnels to service a bunker Mr. Fickes had built deep underground.

Ms. Stevenson, with a degree in horticulture, has tended herbs, vegetables, perennials and a display of Wisteria.

“You can drop anything in the soil and it grows.”

Testing by the province has shown the rich, loamy soil would be suitable for growing Riesling grapes, the couple adds.

The family often spots wildlife wandering through the 380 acres, including deer, birds and a black bear.

“We have an absolute retinue of beasties,” says Mr. Hoare.

The historic seaside town of Annapolis Royal has a caring community, Ms. Stevenson says, and the Bay of Fundy brings many visitors to the area.

After more than a decade in Nova Scotia, the couple hopes new owners will continue caring for the house and property.

They have decided to move to spend more time with their grown daughter.

Mr. Fickes never actually lived in the house, Mr. Hoare says. He built it in anticipation of world events that never transpired.

“Nobody had the vision to see the sleeping beauty it was,” says Mr. Hoare.

The best feature

The second-floor landing includes a private snug where Mr. Hoare has hung a cherished painting. He enjoys settling into a cozy armchair with a selection from the library.

“It’s just a sweet little room.”