

The House is double brick construction made from locally quarried red clay. As was the
custom of such farmhouses in the 19th century, the House consists of a second floor, main
floor, as well as a cellar.
Located on the main floor are the
parlour and dining room with fireplaces, the main entranceway, a farm kitchen with a Dutch
oven, a carriage room, and two smaller rooms originally used as bedrooms. The second floor
has four bedrooms and labourer's quarters separately accessed from the kitchen. |
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The home is complete
with five fireplaces, with chimney cupboards found in both the parlour and dining room. The original kitchen was located in the cellar,
with the fireplace and Dutch oven used for cooking.
The
farm kitchen is now restored with its original wood plank flooring and functional
fireplace.
Many of the windows found throughout the House contain hand
blown glass panes imported from England at the time of construction.
When the House is open, our very knowledgeable volunteers will
provide guided tours of the entire premises, interpreting the furnishings and artifacts
found throughout.
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Several of the trees located on the grounds, including the spruce and pear trees,
were planted by the Bovaird family.
The Heritage rose gardens feature many original
species, some dating back to 1500.
Our orchards and herb garden have been carefully
nurtured to best represent those of the 19th century. |
Be sure to see the Map Room,
featuring the original 1859 Tremaine map of the Brampton area and Peel Region. Also on
view is a full-sized reproduction of the recently discovered and restored 1857 Bristow
& Fitzgerald surveyor's Map of Brampton - poster-sized prints of which are available
in the Carriage House Gift Shop.
The year 2000 Millennium Project gazebo is now again
available for weddings, photography and outdoor functions after it was recently
TOTALLY trashed by hooligans, who thought it was great fun to destroy public
property.
Closed circuit cameras have now been installed throughout
The House and oversee the entire property.
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MOSSIE'S
TEA ROOM
Located within Historic
Bovaird House, Mossie's Tea Room is open for afternoon tea
on several occasions, including our new and very successful
'Loaf & Ladle' pioneer supper
by lamplight in March, Mother's Day Teas in May, 'Desserts By
Lamplight" in October
and our most-popular Victorian Christmas Open House & Craft
Shop Sale,
held each year during the first weekend of December.
Payment for these events are by cash
or cheque only please...
(payable to 'The Friends of Historic Bovaird
House')
See our 'Coming Events' page
for information on future planned activities.
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OUR
"NEWEST" BUILDING
Be sure to visit with us soon and see our newest acquisition which was recently
disassembled and moved from a farm on Gore Road. This rare 1850's
milk house would have served as a pioneer refrigeration unit and is probably
the first 'new' building on this property in over a century !!!
Inside, a large trough filled with blocks of ice or cool water would hold several large
milk cans. Of particular interest are the two small, low portals in the walls at either
end of the trough that would have enabled a nearby stream or water from a well to be
diverted in such a way as to allow a constant flow of cool water to pass right through the
'milk house'.
A Haunted Child's Crib ???
Recently, two groups of Brampton Brownies visited our House and were enthralled by the
story behind the child's crib. So much so that they insisted its history be posted
on this website so they may show it to their parents and friends:
"With
her daughter expecting her first child, the future grandmother found and purchased a very
unique, rare and quite expensive crib for her expectant grandchild.
After
the baby was born, its mother would sometimes hear gentle noises from the room and on a
few occasions saw a smoky, light specter or slight outline of a woman standing at the foot
of the bed, overlooking the sleeping child. The mother felt no harm nor threat the
first few times, but as the frequency of appearances increased she telephoned her mother
who had originally purchased the crib.
Needless to say, the 'grandmother' had
little faith in the stories.... until,
Until she was baby-sitting her grandchild
one evening and heard strange sounds and upon entering the bedroom, saw the very same
wispy image of a lady standing at the foot of the crib. Although also not fearing
any impending danger, she immediately removed the baby from its bed and swore that no
child should ever sleep in this crib.
Not wanting to destroy the lovely antique
piece of furniture, it was donated to Historic Bovaird House with the understanding that
'...no babe nor child ever sleep thereon'.
Many feel that perhaps a
young child passed away in this crib many years ago and that for years its mother must
have stood at the foot of the bed, remembering this unfortunate event. When the
mother died, perhaps her spirit still visits this unfortunate site - not in a menacing nor
harmful manner, simply a mother mourning her young child.
We've had 'ghost-busters', persons
with E.S.P. and noted parapsychologists visit, and almost ALL are drawn to
this piece of furniture. What about you ????
Members of the
Historic Bovaird House Volunteers' Committee
have recently published an informative 48 page full-colour booklet
containing all the information known about The House,
its owners, its history and many furnishings and artifacts found therein.
Copies are available for purchase for $15 in our Carriage House
Craft Shop, with all proceeds going into our acquisition fund.
Click on volunteer if
you're interested
in joining us...
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