FERGUS – It was like finding buried treasure when Ted Bednarski started renovating the lower unit at 220 Bridge St. here.
He assumed because the exterior walls were stone, that he’d find stone inside as well. And he did.
He also found a little cubby that would have had a door to the outside for loading hay for the horses.
This little nook was where the horse groomer would have loaded hay.
“I think it’s the coolest thing in the whole house,” Bednarski said as he showed off the restoration.
The building was once the coach house for the Beatty mansion that is just around the corner on St. David Street.
There was room for two horses and a carriage in the coach house and the person who tended the horses lived upstairs. There was a hidden tunnel from the house to the coach house that has since been closed off.
Two months of removing drywall and concrete revealed this beautiful stone wall, the main feature in the living room.
Building constructed in 1912
The building was constructed in 1912 and has a heritage designation.
So Bednarski can’t do much with the exterior, including the well, pond and retaining walls at the back.
But inside he had free reign. And finding the history that had been covered with drywall, was his prime goal.
Bednarski was born in Poland, and while he had a passion for history and architecture, he didn’t have the means for a formal education.
But he has educated himself and has some fine building skills. He did the restoration in Fergus almost entirely on his own over the past year.
The unit is rented and was to be occupied on Jan. 1.
Bednarski invited the Advertiser to take a look while it is still empty.
“I knew it would be nice, but it’s much nicer than even I had hoped,” he said.
