Ancestral Roofs

"In Praise of Older Buildings"

Thursday, February 18, 2016

2015 - a big year at Ham House - the story continues

I was wrong in 2010. At that time I spent some time worrying about this wonderful Loyalist neoclassical home in Bath. Its blue vinyl cladding festooned with spider webs was a concern; even more was the classical detailing beginning to rot away, and the likelihood that this impressive early frame structure (1816, it turns out) would one day yield to something 'better' in modern framing with brick facing.

I needn't have worried. Actually I was worrying along with someone with considerably more knowledge, skill, vision and fortitude than I. For as I described in another post (one which my Blogger stats tell me is the most-visited post ever at Ancestral Roofs) about that same time one Ron Tasker and life-and-work partner Bonnie Crooks undertook to rescue Ham House.

In early 2017 I did a quick search to see if there was anything new in the news about the couple's project. And  yes! A website. Your personal welcome to Ham House.  Home, History, Finds, Restoration. Links. Enough to bring you up to speed. Great photos along the journey, and a couple of archival views including a photo by the venerable Eric Arthur.

No coincidence, my guess, that the Ham House restoration has reached the point when an eagerly awaited website appears. Could it be that a bit of time has opened up in the couple's schedule?

So. Go visit to this welcoming website. Welcome to the crowd who is hoping that one day this location might become Bath's newest heritage asset. Future plans are still under discussion. Wouldn't it be great to spend time in this 1816 village store, learn about its history and its restoration - and to give back in some small way, to a couple who have laboured so long to preserve a War of 1812 era structure?

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