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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