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A well-known designated heritage site in Ancaster was on its way to being partially knocked down over safety concerns. But thanks to efforts from one city councillor and the community, it’s going to be preserved in its current state so people can enjoy it for years to come.
The Hermitage ruins in Ancaster date all the way back to 1855. They’ve been through the wear and tear of time plus a devastating fire. So understandably, they’re in rough shape. Earlier this summer, the Hamilton Conservation Authority was set to spend close to 200-thousand dollars on lowering the walls of the ruins to make the structure safer. But in doing so, it would have undermined the cultural heritage of them — something neither the community, nor city council wanted to see. Today, councillors took a decisive step in saving the Hermitage Ruins.
It’s a renewed effort in preserving a piece of our areas history. A unanimous vote by council will now see 200-thousand dollars from city funds put towards renovating Ancaster’s Hermitage Ruins.
Councillor Lloyd Ferguson: “In addition to that, we’ve now been able to raise $100,000 from the community plus the engineering has been donated so I can say with a fair amount of reasonable certainty, the Hermitage Ruins are going to be preserved by being rebuilt.”
Close to 200 years old, the ruins, once the home of a wealthy family, are currently fenced off due to their unstable condition. Hamilton’s Conservation Authority was going to knock down the walls to make the site safer, but has since decided to put that money towards renovating it instead. The total estimated cost is 460-thousand dollars — which is where the city comes in with its matching funds.
Ancaster’s Heritage Village chair Bob Wilkins says it’s crucial to preserve the historical site: “The idea here is to map the stones exactly where they are, take the stones down one at a time, have an engineered footing and foundation put in and then you will rebuild the wall back up so you, it’ll be free-standing.”
Councillor Ferguson’s passion to save the site has also sparked interest in community members to raise funds for it.
Leanne Pluthero, Save the Hermitage Facebook page: “We got the Facebook page started up. Paul Grimwood had contacted the family members — the descendants of the Leiths — and we’ve become really good friends with them and knowing that they want to see their family history still standing that makes it even more important to me.”
Bob Wilkins: “If you can maintain and save some of these older buildings in the collective feeling of that, it’s a great thing for the community and you can’t replace it. The new is great, but you can’t replace the old. So if we can manage that, and do that and take pride in that and have a destination, a special destination, for your family and friends to go, it’s good for you, for your well-being, it’s good for the community, it’s good for the larger community.”
With a new foundation put in, the hopes are that the site will also be able to be used as a venue for future concerts and other events for people to enjoy. Restoration work is expected to start next spring and take six months. While the initial restoration cost has been covered, Councillor Ferguson hopes to have a contingency fund in place for future upkeep of the site.
Donations can be made at the Hamilton Conservation Foundation website.
