Grand old lady

Wellington landmark opens its doors for Christmas House Tour

This year’s Christmas In The County House Tour, in support of the PEC Built Heritage Fund, included a prominent Wellington building with an incredible history. Tara Hall was built in 1837 for Archibald McFaul, Wellington’s merchant and postmaster, who also constructed a shipping pier in Wellington that was considered the largest between Kingston and Toronto. The pier could accommodate three-masted schooners and large lake steamboats. Back then, railways weren’t a thing yet, in fact neither were reliable overland roads, so Wellington became the County’s agricultural export hub. Through the late 1830s, shipments of grain, fruit, salt, pork, beef, fish and timber were sent by the tonne across the country and south to New York. It’s also important to note that records indicate McFaul had rebuilt Belleville Road to accommodate the shipping wagons that were constantly lining up there. A smart move for both his community and himself.

The marble bathtub in the updated master bathroom is situated perfectly for windowgazing.

McFaul did very well for himself in those years and prospered greatly from his endeavours in Wellington. He and started construction on his new home, which sat on a property directly behind the pier and the post office just off the northeast corner of Main Street and Belleville Road. The house was built in the English Georgian Manor style, which was very popular among the United Empire Loyalists, who adapted the style when they came to Canada. McFaul was Irish and very Catholic. He wanted to make sure his new Catholic home would be bigger and better than the Protestant Macaulay house in Hallowell. He also funded the construction of St. Frances Catholic Church, 150 metres from this new home. There is a story about a possible tunnel that ran between the two buildings that may have been used in the underground railway to hide and transport fugitive slaves fleeing the United States. Although there is plenty of speculation around the property’s connection to the underground railroad, no evidence of a tunnel has ever been found connecting the church and Tara Hall. It is listed on the register of historic buildings in Prince Edward County as well as being protected under the Ontario Heritage Act.

In its heyday, Tara Hall was renowned from Toronto to Ottawa for its hospitality, and for throwing lavish parties on the property, some lasting several days. In 1844, McFaul sold Tara Hall to the Catholic Church for one thousand pounds. The church then used it as a Catholic boarding school for over a decade until it failed to pay the mortgage and McFaul foreclosed and moved back in. He then stayed at Tara Hall until he passed away in January of 1864. After McFaul’s passing, Tara Hall wore many hats over the years. It was a bed and breakfast for a spell, hosted Masonic functions and special events, and was an antique store as well. But the majesty of the place slowly faded over the decades until it eventually went on the market in the early 2000s.

Fast forward to September 2011, when the property was purchased by it’s current owners Shelley Durnin and Ian Letts. The couple had moved out of Toronto in 2009 and were living in their cottage on Lake Consecon at the time. They, like many others before and after, needed to make an exit from the city and longed for both a slower pace of life and a better quality of living. They put all of the belongings from their Toronto home in storage and moved to the County in search of something new. Durnin would drive past Tara Hall, see the For Sale sign and was intrigued, but it wasn’t until her real estate agent called saying that Tara Hall had just gone down in price, that she really paid any attention to it.

“When I first walked into Tara Hall to take a look, I walked through the kitchen door, which is the least exciting room in the whole house. I stepped in the kitchen immediately fell in love with the place. I felt like it was asking me to take care of it. I walked out of the kitchen into the hallway and that was it for me. I then called Ian and said ‘I think we’re buying a house’,” says Durnin.

The house needed a lot of basic care and love before they could do anything major to the place. The couple have fixed the roof, replaced the bricks on all the chimneys, redone all the electrical. Durnin calls it a lifelong renovation. They do little bits and pieces here and there, and then focus on large projects when they have the money to do so.

Fast forward again to 2018, where the couple have finally agreed after years of asking, to participate in the Christmas Holiday House Tour. The tour comes at a great time, because they have just finished a renovation on the two bathrooms on the second floor. The renovation is spectacular, with one of the features being a standalone marble bathtub situated right in the middle of the bathroom, facing two giant windows. The room also has a large beautiful wood shower with a seat and wall-to-ceiling glass doors.

Leafy plants, big blankets and comfy furniture adorn the parlour room at Tara Hall.

The massive rooms are impeccably laid out, but not in a curatorial way. It is clear when you walk through the house, that the couple live here. Textiles, large fluffy blankets, big leafy green plants and, above all, comfort is the name of the game for Durnin and Letts. But there is also a level of elegance to their style that leaves people visiting with a feeling a comfort and serenity. The house gives you an urge in every room to find a good book and curl up in one of its many comfy corners. You can tell that a lot of thought went into the feeling and vibe of each room. Durnin admits that it does take them a while to make a decision when it comes to the house.

“We had the marble bathtub, currently in our new bathroom, in a hallway for years because it takes us forever to make a decision on lighting, or even where to hang a painting. There’s lots of discussions before something goes up,” says Durnin.

There is an energy in Tara Hall that is undeniable, and when you walk through and take a look at the house from top to bottom, you can clearly see how much time and love Durnin and Letts have put into the place. The couple are clearly enjoying the process and drawing off the energy of the property. Durnin keeps insisting that it’s the house telling her what to do.

The first thing we did when we moved in was tear out a wall that been put between the breakfast and the parlour room. It had been put there to divide the ground floor into rooms for a bed and breakfast. As soon the wall was torn down and the doors opened, I could feel a sigh come from the house. It just felt so right,” says Durnin.

All funds raised from the Christmas In The County House Tour go to support the preservation of historic buildings in Prince Edward County.