Major resotoration at Glanmore

By Thomas Lee

The years always have a wear and tear on houses and the Glanmore historical site is no exception.

The Glanmore historic site in Belleville has been temporarily closed for restorations to the main floor ceiling. Over the years the ceiling, which is made from lath and plaster, has been slowly separating and it is time to have it repaired. The Glanmore historic site has to keep their lath and plaster ceiling instead of dry wall so it can stay a national historic site.

“We cannot put dry wall up because of our designation of a nation historic site. All the hand paintings on the ceiling would be lost,” said Melissa Wakeling, Glanmore’s education and marketing coordinator.

The restoration to the historic site is going to cost an estimated $368,000.

“We received some funds from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, the City of Belleville and the Parrott Foundation,” said Wakeling.

The fund has donated $130,000, the City of Belleville $163,000 and the Parrott Foundation $75,000.

Glanmore has also decided to repaint the walls in the drawing rooms to their original color.

“It is a rare opportunity to return the original paint schemes in the rooms to the original colour,” said Wakeling.

Glanmore has not set an exact date but it is expected to have a grand re-opening on National Museum Day, May 18. National Museum Day is a day when museums offer free admission.

The group responsible for Glanmore’s historic site is Historic Plaster Conservation Services. They specialize in dealing with plaster in historic buildings, using techniques for strengthening existing plaster in ceilings and walls.

“They are the only company that does this kind of work in North America,” said Wakeling.