Facelift started on former Twillingate general retail store

TWILLINGATE The building at Twillingate South known locally as Ashbournes Shop is getting a much-needed facelift at long last.

Ashbournes Ltd. shop and office buildings are all that is left of a thriving business that was purchased in 1897 by the late William Ashbourne, father of the late Thomas G.W. Ashbourne who inherited a major controlling share in the business in 1922. William Ashbourne bought it from Edwin Duder, an Englishman who was reported to have had 72 fishing schooners in the year 1880. Mr. Duder, according to the present owner Audrey Ashbourne (daughter to the late T.G.W. Ashbourne), bought the business premises in 1850 and shortly after that date built the shop. The office building was added some years later.

The shop was an integral part of the salt fish business carried on by the Ashbournes throughout the first half of the 1900s, but with the coming of fresh fish processing Ashbournes like so many others eventually closed its doors in 1981. Since then, the remaining storehouses, wharf, flakes and other infrastructure including a seal oil processing plant have disappeared. The only remaining structures are the shop, office and the house where the family of the late T.G.W. Ashbourne were the last to reside.

I could have sold the buildings if the house went with them, advised Ms. Ashbourne in a telephone interview in late September, but the house is definitely not for sale.

She informed that a few short years ago she had the house restored on the outside and fully intends to do the same for the inside at a later date.

Thats one of the oldest wooden houses in the province, she advised. Id sort of like to do up the shop and office but Im not quite sure yet of what use they will have. Theres a lot of uncertainty to the project.

Ms. Ashbourne, who lives in Toronto where she still works at her brother Howards law firm, indicated that they were considering some few years ago letting the shop and office go to a tourist group in Twillingate who had been inquiring.

For a long time a local tourist group were interested in the shop and office up to maybe some three years ago, she informed, and we thought like wed almost give them away, but then nothing came of that. So then I thought because I love Twillingate and Newfoundland so much I should start myself to do something.

But it would be nothing quick, she advised. She realized that there would be considerable risk in the project but she was satisfied to go ahead slowly.

I love the history and Id like to contribute something to the area. If I didnt have the house, she reiterated, the shop and office wouldnt have as much significance. The house is much older than the shop and was built in stages according to my father. There was a time when the house had a full veranda and the ceiling and floors are all pine. My grandfather told my dad that the pine was all cut on Twillingate island. I intend to complete (the refurbishing) of the interior and replace the veranda, but thats a long-term job, too. The work on the exterior was at my expense. I could have gotten a small grant because the house is registered with Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador Foundation (HNLF) but I never took one for the house.

I tried to get the job on the shop done last year, she advised, but the contractor told me he had problems getting the right colour shingles. So this year hes started the repair job but everything is so slow.

Ms. Ashbourne advised that once the roof is complete she would be hiring another contractor to paint both buildings.

In 2007, the shop and office were designated as Registered Heritage Structures by the HNLF. The description accorded by the Heritage Foundation states that the Ashbourne Shop is aesthetically valuable because of its 19th century mercantile construction. Built with a steeply pitched gable roof and made of wood, the shop has roof rafters of hand-hewn beams (pine).

It displays many characteristics of the retail store with large, storefront window openings, a sign band, a large massing and a prominent location at the harbour front. The simple, narrow wooden clapboard and the slightly returned eaves show the utilitarian nature of the structure, along with the plain, flat window and door trims. Decorative features of this building are found in the slightly peaked window moulding and the central, arched window in the gable end.

The description also notes the cultural value of the building. It represents a time in Twillingates history when it was a flourishing economic and social centre for the surrounding region, reads the literature. Internationally, business was conducted from the shores of this harbour and the town benefited from the many cultural influences. The bustling seaport began to decline throughout the 20th century when the railway and the Trans Canada Highway were put into place, lessening the need for marine business. Ashbourne Shop will continue to remind the community of its earlier prosperity and importance on the international map.