The TLC just issued a press release:
Labour Day Marks a Labour of Love at TLC’s Ross Bay Villa
VICTORIA, B.C. – What do microscopes, scalpels, paintbrushes, dental picks, a sewing machine, and an antique printing press have in common? They have been used to restore the Dining Room of The Land Conservancy of British Columbia’s Ross Bay Villa. Many years of work by TLC volunteers will culminate this Labour Day weekend with the official unveiling of the meticulous restoration of this room on Monday, September 6, 2010.
Thousands of volunteer hours have transformed a once badly deteriorated space back into an elegant 1860s Dining Room for all to admire. The ornate mirror reflects the glow of a handsome oil-lamp, hanging over a dining table set for breakfast with period china. Dark Victorian furniture and an oriental carpet set off the classic wallpaper and heavy velvet drapes. Every detail is appropriate to the 1860s period in which the Villa was built, and represents an astonishing labour of love by a number of heritage professionals and skilled artisans and artists. Specialist craftspeople on the project have included an historic wallpaper designer, a retired paperhanger, a lath-and-plaster expert, a conservator, a heritage carpenter, a cabinet-maker, a heritage mason, and a textile specialist. But many more of the volunteers are everyday people with a love for heritage, all of whom have painstakingly scraped away the layers of paint and wallpaper, and restored the original baseboards, door, frames, floor, glass, and fireplace.
“TLC is extremely lucky to have such a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers,” says Deborah Hudson, TLC’s Vancouver Island Regional Manager. “A number of volunteers have been working weekly at the Villa for 10 years or more.”
“Time: That’s what it took to make this room and project a success,” says professional conservator Simone Vogel-Horridge. “Restoring the plaster ceiling-rose alone probably took a hundred hours, with volunteers working on a scaffold at neck-breaking angles! And every Saturday you can find a volunteer working away methodically on a section of the Villa, and the results are breathtaking. When you walk into the Dining Room, it is like you are going to sit down for dinner with the Roscoes, the original family to occupy the home in 1865.”
Please join TLC’s Ross Bay Villa Labour Day Lawn Party on Monday, September 6, 1 – 4 p.m. Admission to the grounds and heritage group displays are free. Visitors may also enjoy a comprehensive tour of the Villa for an additional $7.00 and traditional ‘Cream Tea’ on the lawn for $7.00. Period 1800s music will also be provided by the Windrift Woodwind Quintet.
Ross Bay Villa is a rare 1865 colonial cottage, one of about a dozen buildings of this era known to survive in the Capital Region. Located at 1490 Fairfield Road in Victoria, this historic site is directly opposite historic Ross Bay Cemetery. TLC purchased the property in April 1999 rescuing it from demolition. Under professional guidance, a dedicated group of volunteers is bringing the building back to its 1865 appearance. TLC intends to restore the building as a multi-use facility including period rooms and interpretive displays open to the public, and office rental space for local heritage organizations. With the restoration nearly complete, the Old Cemeteries Society is poised to be the first group to move into one of the offices. The 1860s style garden will also be available for small gatherings such as weddings.
For further information:
Heather Skydt, TLC Communications Manager, 604-733-2313, hskydt@conservancy.bc.ca
Bill Turner, TLC Executive Director, 250-479-8053, bturner@conservancy.bc.ca