Reid Media Agency
78 Augusta St., Port Hope, Ont.
Asking price: $2.3-million
Taxes: $7,960.16 (2023)
Lot size: 66 by 330 feet
Agents: Dee McGee, Ryanne McGee, Brandon Weigel, Royal LePage Proalliance Realty
The backstory
The circa-1875 Thomas McCreery House captured the imaginations of Gary Hierlihy and Mark McFadden immediately.
“We were looking at a number of houses,” says Mr. McFadden. “When we looked at this house, we cancelled all of the other viewings.”
In 2015, the two Toronto residents were considering a move to Port Hope after many years of visiting friends in the historic town on the edge of Lake Ontario.
They investigated VIA Rail connections to the city and figured out the logistics of getting to their corporate offices.
Mr. Hierlihy had one other criterion: he wanted a house that was move-in ready.
“I’m not the renovation type. I said, ‘the only way we’re buying this house is if we’re not doing renovations.’”
Fortunately, previous owners had done all of the heavy lifting. The plumbing and other major systems had been modernized and original elements such as the elaborate plaster mouldings, tall baseboards and carved wooden banister had all been restored.
The two were drawn to the dwelling’s prominent position on a hill, which provides views over the town and lake from a dramatic tower crowned by a mansard roof.
“It was just such a striking, stately home,” says Mr. Hierlihy.
The couple learned that the red-brick house with a wraparound porch and bay windows was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1983.
The Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee points to the florid Renaissance detail, multi-paneled doors and square towers as typical of the “Italianate” style in the late Victorian era.
Records show the land had changed hands a few times in the 1800s, but the property was named for Mr. McCreery, who owned a billiard saloon in the 1870s, then went on to become a grocer and seller of ale and porter.
Local historians suggest the building’s tower may have been added a few years later as the merchant gained prosperity.
The house today
Home of the Week, 78 Augusta St Port Hope, Ont.Reid Media Agency
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Today the house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms over three levels.
Residents and visitors arrive to a restored set of double doors that lead to the foyer. The main-floor principal rooms include a lounge with a staircase winding to the second floor. The living room has a Victorian-era fireplace with marble surround, restored millwork and French Doors opening to the veranda.
The family room and dining area connect to the kitchen at the rear of the house. That room has wooden cabinets, a second staircase and a beamed and vaulted double-height ceiling.
Throughout the house, original pine floors have been refurbished, the couple says.
On the second floor, the primary suite includes a bedroom, a large ensuite bath with a claw-foot tub and glass-enclosed shower and a second bedroom which currently serves as a home office.
Stairs lead to the third level with two additional bedrooms. A large bathroom with a claw-foot tub and pedestal sink has a window overlooking the garden.
Outside, the ravine lot provides plenty of space to relax, surrounded by greenery. And while the interior of the home had been restored, the couple undertook some large projects around the exterior.
A second lot next door continues to provide additional parking spaces, but the area needed some attention.
“We reclaimed unnecessary parking and we turned it into green space,” says Mr. McFadden, who oversaw much of the work to improve the garden. An arborist cleared trees that didn’t belong and groomed the mature white pine, honey locust, black locust and sugar maple that surrounded the house.
Mr. McFadden planted perennials, along with Korean lilac and a variety of hydrangea bushes.
A row of old cedar was removed to bolster the home’s presence on the street and bring light into the interior, says Mr. McFadden.
“We added starburst magnolias in a secret pathway along the east side of the house.”
The sloping original laneway from the street would have been designed for a horse-and-cart, Mr. McFadden points out, so creating a green driveway with plantings of sedum was not only good for the environment, but in keeping with the character of the house.
“We fought asphalt,” says Mr. Hierlihy. “It’s a greenway filled with plants – hundreds and hundreds of plants.”
While the new drive is safe in icy conditions, Mr. Hierlihy points out that the property’s additional parking at street level means there’s no need to use it during winter.
A new terrace above the ravine benefits from the more open view.
“We found that we were able to see five church steeples. It’s an incredible vista,” says Mr. Hierlihy.
Adding landscape lighting and furniture for lounging and dining creates a space for soirees on summer evening, while stone retaining walls add structure to the space.
“It’s just an amazing room of its own outside,” says Mr. Hierlihy.
Recent work includes repointing the brick chimney and installing a new roof with scalloped shingles in keeping with the home’s era.
The couple says passersby often stop to talk about the house.
“People have the most crazy positive reaction,” says Mr. Hierlihy. “They don’t hesitate to tell us how happy and joyful it is.”
He adds that the home’s perch above the street provides privacy but the two can also walk to the well-preserved downtown in just a few minutes.
“The movie business comes often for a reason,” says Mr. Hierlihy. “It’s cinematic.”
The best feature
The three-storey tower is distinctive from the outside but it also creates interesting nooks on the inside.
“The tower is its own entity,” says Mr. Hierlihy.
A small hallway leads to a cozy library on the second floor, where a floor-to-ceiling “coffin window” provides access to a Juliet balcony outside.
One floor above, a niche in the tower provides a place for contemplation while overseeing the town and the lake beyond.
“It’s a perfect perch with a book and a coffee in the morning,” says Mr. McFadden. “It’s very much in the canopy of the trees.”