A Trip Back in Time in Royalton Village

This historic home in the tiny village of Royalton has been painstakingly restored and decorated in all four floors. (Herald photo by Tim Calabro)

At one corner of the green in Royalton village, the meticulously restored 22-room home of Richard McGovern and Jacques Tremblay makes an imposing impression. Built in 1802, the building’s past life as a tavern and inn, and its present incarnation as an elegant, but comfortable private home have been lovingly melded into a harmonious whole. Ten working soapstone fireplaces and period chandeliers filled with candles co-exist with modern wiring, good insulation, and central air conditioning.

On a hot summer day, the dim coolness of the entry hall is welcoming. The leaded fanlight that unfurls over the massive front door illuminates an intricate crewelwork wall hanging, antique clocks and mirrors, and tall Chinese porcelain urns sprouting a collection of canes.

To the left is the morning room (so named because of its location on the side of the house that got the morning light), with interior shutters on the 12 over 12 windows, painted wide board floors, and period furnishings, including Oriental rugs, and candle stand tables. Across the hall, the dining room is furnished with a mix of federal and Chippendale pieces, an oil portrait of a gracious lady, and frames filled with antique embroidery and tiny, beautifully-crafted black and white silhouettes.  

Showing a guest through his home, which was featured in the April 2004 issue of Country Living magazine, McGovern notes that after he bought the property in 1988, it took three to four years to make the renovations, which included a new roof, electrical wiring, plumbing, and heating, plus a security system. He explains that Joseph Fessenden bought the land in 1801 and built the house, which began life as a tavern, the following year. It eventually became a private home after the huge Cascadnac Inn (now gone) was built, and for the next 150 years served as a two-family house and boarding house.

The old tap room with its chair rail and collection of Windsor chairs, red painted woodwork, and reproduction bar cage based on a design from colonial Williamsburg; and the meeting room with its beautiful paneling, give a visitor a glimpse into the past. Open what looks like a closet door and you’ll see the dumbwaiter that brought food to these rooms from the basement level kitchens, and a collection of antique pewter eating utensils.

An unusual double staircase climbs to the upper levels of the house. A huge kas (a Dutch cabinet) made in the Hudson Valley of New York in 1730, dominates the landing, which leads to a ballroom furnished with a grand piano, 18^th century Dutch candle chandeliers, and an impressive European folding screen. Next door is the "withdrawing" room, where male guests used to smoke and have an after-dinner drink, but which now serves as Tremblay’s computer room, and also contains a huge French cabinet filled with antique quilts.

Also on this level is a sitting room decorated with ornate Federal style stenciling painted by Tremblay, and the "best" bedroom suite, which has a huge cherry bed made by Randy Leavitt of Freight House Woodworks in South Royalton, and an immense circa 1900 French wardrobe with two full-length mirrors. The re-modeled master bath is a gleaming testament to the beauty of Bethel White granite.   

The top level of the house, which McGovern calls the "garret," holds the four large boarding (or guest) rooms. An 1840s grain bin provides storage in the wide central hallway.

Heading back down the stairs, you descend to the bottom level of the house, where a pair of kitchens still boast their original and unique tinned copper boiling kettles inset into the soapstone fireplaces, and bake ovens in the brick walls alongside. The kettles were used for heating water for laundry, making soup, etc.

"This was state-of-the-art for an early 1800s kitchen," McGovern notes.

A series of cool, dark storage rooms includes one now used as a wine cellar. Also visible is the original massive 45-ft. spruce carrying beam that extends the length of the house.

Extending across the back of the main level is a spacious back porch with Tuscan columns connected by Chippendale style railings. This is the perfect spot to gaze down on the formal gardens, which sit serenely behind the house. Filled with interesting nooks and glades and several arbors covered with vines (including a lush wisteria and one that grows kiwis!) that provide shade, the gardens feature sundials, marble urns, bird baths, and a rectangular pool filled with a splashing fountain, lily pads, cat tails, and water iris amongst the well-tended greenery. Stone rabbits peep from beneath plants and other statuary dots the landscape. A flock of banty roosters and hens strut and squawk near a patch of currant and gooseberry bushes, as the foliage of an unusual fringe tree and Persian lilacs catches the eye. The two old barns adjacent to the house were moved to the site from nearby Chelsea, and look as if they’ve always been there.

McGovern and Tremblay, who share their home with Vida the dog and Tony the cat, split their time between Royalton and their other home in New York City. They also own property in France where they hope to spend their retirement years. As McGovern winds up the tour, it’s clear that restoring this home in Royalton has been a labor of love, undertaken with great care and attention to detail, and an unspoken, but very evident, respect for its past. 

By Martha Slater