Protecting the Mansfield Manse
It was a case of love at first sight. Fay Maclachlan said when she first laid eyes on the Mansfield United Church Manse, she just knew she and her husband Ian would be the ones to care for the The Grand Old Lady until the next caretakers get their turn.
The house was built in 1903 and was purchased by the Trustees of the Methodist Church in 1904. When many of the churches amalgamated, and the Mansfield United Church was constructed in 1925, the Parsonage as it was called then became associatedwith the new Mansfield United Church and referred to as the Manse.
The Maclachlans have recently had the house added to Municipal Register of Historical Properties.
Properties included on the register are given interim protection from demolition, provided under the Ontario Heritage Act. Owners must give at least 60 days notice in writing of their intention to demolish or remove a building or structure on the property to allow time for the municipality to decide whether to begin the formal designation process under the Ontario Heritage Act.
“We feel so blessed to have the house and I don’t ever want to see it knocked down,” said Fay.
The house has many of its original woodwork, windows, doors, pine flooring, and architectural features.
Other than some electrical upgrades, refinishing floors and finishing the loft area, they have done little in terms of renovations.
“We want to leave the house basically in tact,” said Fay. “We almost feel like we are the guardians until the next people move in, whenever that is, decades from now hopefully.”
There are two art deco light fixtures that are original to the house, windows of cranberry coloured glass above the windows, original doors with all the hardware, including a skeleton key, and an old fashioned door bell on the front door.
“It’s so rare in a home that is 119 years old,” said Fay, “Imagine a skeleton key that hasn’t been lost?”
It has an original barn with two stalls where the minister and his wife would keep horses for their buggy and cutter.
Many residents have fond memories of attending meetings at the Manse, visiting as children, or participating in cleaning bees in preparation for incoming ministers and families. Locals say the house was a location for meetings, pre-wedding consultations, and even shotgun weddings.
Because the house is meaningful to people in the area, they have been generous with their stories and old photos.
The Maclachlans purchased the house in November 2020.
They had been looking for a new home during the pandemic, taking long drives from their home in Brampton, where they had lived for 20 years and raised three girls.
Fay works from home but because Ian has to sometimes commute to his job at the north campus of Humber College, Fay set up a radius of equal distance to their Brampton home and started a search on Google Maps. She discovered Mulmur and focussed her search on the area.
“We ended up driving by and I absolutely fell in love with the house,” said Fay. They put in an offer right away.
“The house has such a good vibe and it’s so beautiful,” said Fay.
She and Ian refer to the house as The Grand Old Lady and have bestowed on it the more meaningful name of Vesper Solis, Latin for Evening Sun, because of the beautiful sunsets.
Established by council in 2014 following a recommendation from the Heritage Committee, Mulmur’s Municipal Register of Historical Properties include properties of cultural heritage value or interest. Once established, cemeteries and municipally owned properties were added.
A full listing of historical properties is available at mulmur.ca.
