Restoration of the Edwardian drawing room at Fulford Place mansion in Brockville (2022)

In 1991, the Fulford family donated the 35-room Edwardian mansion, Fulford Place, to the Ontario Heritage Trust, along with its substantial collection. Many of the collection pieces can be found throughout the house, which operates as a museum today. The Trust works with the Friends of Fulford Place to operate the museum and provide tours of the site.

But time has taken its toll on the house. Roof leakage had resulted in water damage to the Music Room alcove, which was addressed through roof repairs. But additional water damage had been done to the beautiful Drawing Room on the main floor that now required attention.

In 2022, the Trust — in partnership with the Friends of Fulford Place — began the Drawing Room restoration project. This room is richly decorated in the rococo style, resplendent in lavish architectural work and sumptuous finishings such as silk damask wallcoverings and tapestries. While the project focused on architecture and decorative elements, it also required substantial preparation before any restoration could be done. The protection, cataloguing and removal of all the artifacts and furnishings prior to construction took a great deal of time. But then the real work could commence.

One of the more exciting aspects of the project was the restoration of the plaster ceiling and decorative cornice in the alcove. In addition, we had to conserve and reproduce silk damask wall panels and repair the carved woodwork niches. Artisans used molds to recreate the damaged plaster details. And we found a weaver to recreate the gold damask panels that were beyond repair.

Architectural work in the Drawing Room was completed in 2022-23. The final phase of the project is the silk damask wall panel restoration.