Home Tour: Restored Victorian Charm In Heart’s Content
Getting a cell signal in Heart’s Content can be difficult. Finding areas where your phone reads “no service” is far easier. It’s ironic, really, since the town was once a communications hub. But that was before cell phones – and even before land lines.
The first telegraph line to connect Europe to North America came ashore at Heart’s Content in 1866; the telegraph office was built in 1875 and was operated by a British company who brought over managers and telegraph operators. These upper level employees were housed in the style they were accustomed to back home, in homes with formal dining rooms and parlours, served by a staff of hired help in houses at the top of the hill.
The town was home to a communications station of global importance, and these were the people hired to make it all work. In Heart’s Content they were important people living in important houses. Although many of the town’s old buildings have been lost, there are still a few surviving homes. One of those, a Victorian duplex, has been lovingly restored to its original state by Lynda and Ed Moss and named the Cable House.
The cable station closed in 1965, put out of commission by advances in technology. But when it was operating, the employees directly under the manager were considered – and considered themselves – upper class citizens, and they lived in these luxurious attached houses. These restored cable houses now stand as a reminder of what life was once like.
After completing the renovations, Lynda got a sense of what those times were like when an older lady stopped by to see the house. She was just a young girl when the cable station operators lived in the house, and she remembers stopping in to visit her friend from school. Because the two were deemed to be in different social classes, the girl was never allowed into the house. She was, says Lynda, brought to tears by the sight of the restored home’s interior.
Before Lynda and Ed took over the restoration work, Lynda’s father had been working at the house on his own over the years. He did a lot of work, but there was still much to do. Bringing the home back to its original splendour took Lynda and Ed another six years. They began on the exterior, where rot was creeping up the inside of the walls. Many of the studs had to be replaced through a process of bracing, removing, and installing new studs. The clapboard also had to be replaced on much of the lower portions of the first floor. It was during this work that Ed discovered the walls were filled with brick between the studs, which was then covered by horizontal boards.
The house has 16 fireplaces, with eight in each unit. They work, but they also need new liners. Heat is provided by electric heaters that look like the hot water heaters from days gone by.
When built in 1896 the home was wired with electricity and still has some of the original light fixtures and switches.
Throughout the renovation, the couple were guided by a desire to see the building returned to its original splendour, while also honouring the vision Lynda’s parents had for the place.
“My parents dream was to restore and repair the place,” she says.
October 12, 2017 @ 5:21 pm
What a beautiful home, very well restored. A lot of love went into it and it shows. Nice landscaping, too………
October 12, 2017 @ 9:05 pm
The house is beautiful. My house I grew up still has the old fire place in it as well.
October 13, 2017 @ 6:13 pm
Thank you so much Tobias for sharing our story and all the awesome photos you took at the Cablehouse. My parents put 21 years into saving this duplex, originally known as Cable Staff House#1 and Cable Staff House#2. My husband Ed and I bought the Cable Houses from my father in 2010. Since that time we have engaged in an extensive restoration project which we completed in 2013. We opened as a B&B last year to share these beautiful homes with tourists and fellow Newfoundlanders. In the past three years we have hosted vintage weddings on the property as well. Newfoundland is a culturally rich province steeped in antiquity. It has taken our family two generations to preserve an important part of that history and we are so grateful for your prestigious promotion and preservation of our Newfoundland heritage. Much appreciated!
Lynda at The Cablehouse
October 13, 2017 @ 11:38 pm
My grandparents Emily and Herbert Angel use to own the house on the left. It was there summer home for many years. I loved going over there in the summer . I have a lot of beautiful memories in that house.
October 14, 2017 @ 11:34 am
Heart’s Content… why wouldn’t one’s heart be contented in this gracious Victorian abode. Restored to beyond its original charm and grandeur complete with modern-day amenities. This double home is twice the pleasure – each room is another “oooh “and “ahhh” moment. One can’t help but reminisce or romanticize about an almost forgotten era which was the catalyst for change fueled by the need to communicate with others in the most expedient manner possible. Ironically, as the writer pointed out, communications can be challenging, but then again – perhaps that’s not a bad thing sometimes we should log-out, look around and soak up the present while honoring and appreciating our past. Undoubtedly, this would be the ideal location to take such a break!
October 14, 2017 @ 3:50 pm
My Grandparents owned one side off that house back in 1980s
October 16, 2017 @ 6:27 pm
For our fifth anniversary my husband and I renewed our vows at the lighthouse in Heart’s Content, and had the privilege of spending the evening at the Cable House. We were absolutely thrilled with, not only, the home, but all the details Lynda and Ed had put into their restoration. The antiques, photographs, books, magazines, and silver added charm and authenticity. We learned the history of the home, while being surrounded by grandeur and charm. I know the one night we spent there is insufficient to truly appreciate all the detail, hard work, and love Lynda and Ed put into the Cable House! Being tourists from Alberta, we don’t see this type of architecture at home, and it is wonderful that these two have saved a valuable piece of Newfoundland and Canadian history. Bravo to you both!
January 20, 2018 @ 11:49 am
You have do a beautiful job restoring the house. I used to live in that house when I was growing up
from 1956 to when the cable office closed. My Dad had a huge garden in the back. Everything then was fenced in because the horses & goats were able to roam free. I was last back to Hearts Content in 2011 but was not in the house at that time.