County addressing concerns over roof replacement at historic Macaulay museum

Concerns about construction at Macaulay Heritage Park Museum are being addressed as the museum, located within the former church building at Macaulay Heritage Park at 23 Church St., Picton is getting a new roof.

Justin Venslovaitis, a long-time wood worker, a museum volunteer, and a student of historic building conservation at West Dean College in the UK, expressed concern following a visit to the church earlier this month, and shared these two photographs.

“Sections of rotten wood have been removed along the eaves and left exposed with no temporary protection in place,” said Venslovaitis. “Later that same day we had heavy rain followed by snow which raises real concerns about water getting into the building fabric. For an historic structure, that kind of exposure can cause damage very quickly.

“It just didn’t look like the kind of care you would expect for a heritage site in an historical cemetery,” said Venslovaitis. “I’m not trying to criticize for the sake of it, but it does seem worth asking whether proper conservation practices and site protections are being followed on a publicly funded project.”

Olivia Fox, communications co-ordinator at the municipality, reports County staff and the contractor conducted a first on-site inspection late last week, marking the official start of construction activities following site preparation. She noted the project engineer was also on site to complete an evaluation.

“All potential points of water penetration have been inspected by County staff, the contractor, and the engineer, and mitigation measures are in place despite outward appearances,” states Fox. “The building is being secured against water penetration at the end of each workday.

“Some exposed wood is visible due to ice-related damage, which has already been temporarily addressed on the south side with a fascia board installation. The north side was opened today for engineering assessment, and a rear section that failed over the weekend has not yet been repaired. A coordinated plan to address these areas has been developed with a change order forthcoming.

Venslovaitis was also concerned there didn’t appear to be any protection for the windows, and scaffolding and materials were set up very close to surrounding gravestones.

“Also for an active large scale construction site there’s no protections or fencing for the public or signage of overhead work, unlike for example the hospital construction site currently that is all fenced in, or when the Royal hotel had work being done,” he said.

Fox stated these concerns are being addressed and construction fencing is now in place around the contractor’s work zone and materials, and plywood protection has been installed around the headstones on the south side as requested.

“Headstones on the north side are sufficiently distant from the building and do not require additional protection,” she reported, adding “The existing white perimeter fence encloses the entire park, but additional safety signage was noted as lacking. The contractor has been asked to install signage, and staff have already added caution tape and a closure sign at the church entrance. ”

Fox stated no window protection is required for this phase of work.

“Any existing damage is either longstanding or a result of winter icicle buildup, which should not recur once planned heat-trace lines are installed as part of the project scope. Damaged window panes will be replaced after the roof work is completed, when the site is safe to access.”

The building was closed March 11 for the scheduled project and is expected to remain closed until Tuesday, March 31. The County had set aside up to $100,000 in the 2024 budget to be used for the roof replacement.

As noted on its heritage plaque, the old church (built c 1825) of St. Mary Magdalene, and its rectory (Macaulay House c 1830), were built by the Rev. William Macaulay on land he received as a crown grant.

When the congregation moved to a new building it continued to maintain the old church until deeding it to the County for a museum, which was established in 1973.

After his death in 1874, the old rectory and the farm land surrounding it were owned in turn by several well known county families.

The County acquired the property in 1974, thus recreating the old relationship of church and rectory.