Magnificent manor: Historic N.B. home restored to former glory

There aren't many people willing to buy an almost 200-year-old home in complete disarray and restore it to its former glory, but that's what Miriam Andrews is doing.

Andrews and her husband Steven Trites moved from Kelowna, B.C., to Dorchester, N.B., after purchasing the Lady Smith Manor in 2019.

The 8,000 square-foot home has 25 rooms and was built in 1840.

It's been a massive project. The bones of the vacant home were in good shape, but it was in a sorry state when the couple moved in.

“But it had huge potential and I think that's what we could really see when we walked in through the door,” said Andrews. “I remember the very first time when we walked in to view it and it was almost waiting for someone to love it and to bring it back to life.”

The house was owned by Sir Albert James Smith, a lawyer from Shediac, who was premier of New Brunswick in the mid-1860s.

They've been doing most of the restoration work themselves with the exception of the electrical work, but it’s been a pricey process.

“It's a big property and very expensive to heat, so every year, we've gradually added something that is making it warmer and warmer, which is fantastic,” said Andrews.

While still a work in progress, the historic home is now an events venue, but it's more of a passion project than a business venture.

“It really, for us, is our life,” she said. “When we first saw the property, we felt like we had a responsibility to bring it back to life and restore it, and it has very much become our passion.”

The centre piece of the music room is a grand piano with a great back story.

“When we moved in, there was a beautiful square grand piano, which I didn't even know they had square grand pianos until I came here,” said Andrews. “It was built in 1840, which is actually the same year as this end of the house, and the story I've been told is was that it was saved and brought in to the property when someone was going to destroy it and use the wood for pencils.”

Andrews has made 133 YouTube videos – one for each week of the restoration project – to keep curious followers up to date.

Lady Smith Manor has been nominated for two provincial tourism awards and the province has nominated it for a national tourism award.

A Christmas market with local artists and vendors will take place at the manor on Nov. 12 and 13.