Canterbury Shaker Village - Trustees' Office

2017 Preservation Achievement Award: Canterbury Shaker Village for outstanding rehabilitation of the Trustees’ Office

with: David Ford (Canterbury Shaker Village Property Manager), Preservation Timber Framing, LCHIP

The Trustees’ Office at the Canterbury Shaker Village was the last major rehabilitation project in a campaign that started nearly thirty years ago at this National Historic Landmark. Surprisingly, the Shakers were known for embracing improvements and innovations – from early cars to linoleum. The team here appropriately embraced the “new” materials found in the building, and the pressed tin ceilings and walls, the linoleum floors, and the wallpaper were all retained. The building also received updated electrical, heating, security, plumbing, and fire suppression systems while preserving the character-defining features of the interior spaces.

On the outside, the building was re-pointed, the slate roof and twin porches repaired, and the windows and trim restored. Today, the building is open for the first time since 2001, and includes an apartment for the Farm Manager, office space for four departments, and a new exhibit about the post office and how Shakers interacted with the outside world.  

Here’s what property manager David Ford said about the project:

“It is always an honor to work on historic properties. The level of craftsmanship forces the team to bring their A game, especially when dealing with the Shakers. The Trustees’ Building is a brick building with 90% of the interior walls being brick as well, of course with a plaster coating. This explained the arched doorways in the basement, as the arch can support much more weight. This also required all wiring and sprinkler systems to be exposed and painted! A word of advice to those removing old linoleum floors...check for asbestos first and, secondly, be prepared to deal with a bad floor underneath. Why put linoleum on a good floor? That’s just not the Shaker Way!”

Photo courtesy of LCHIP

Photo courtesy of David Ford