Grant helps fund work at Knaut-rhuland House

The Lunenburg Heritage Society is the recipient of two government grants to help conserve the circa 1793 Knaut-rhuland House.

The site is a National Historic Site and registered provincial Heritage Property at 125

Pelham St. in Lunenburg.

The Parks Canada National Cost-sharing Program for Heritage Places gave $55,000 and

$10,000 came from the Nova Scotia Heritage Development Fund (Built Heritage).

The Parks Canada grant is half of the $110,000 needed for phase one of renewal work on the building’s foundation and roof structure. The society is required to match an equal amount and, in addition to the grant from Nova Scotia Heritage, now has $17,500 from private foundations, $2,210 from individuals and businesses, and $4,200 through community events.

While the next step is to raise the final $21,090 for phase one, work has begun on the first priority, repairing and strengthening the original stone foundation, guided by architect Greg Munn of Nine Yards Studio and engineer Tom Morrison of Heritage Standing.

Owned and operated by the volunteer-run Lunenburg Heritage Society, the Knaut-rhuland

House is the oldest home in town open to the public. As many as 5,000 people tour the museum each season, visiting from throughout Canada and the United States and more than 30 other countries.

A volunteer board and members are dedicated to preserving the site and its stories for future generations. It was designated a historic site in 2002 as “one of the best preserved examples of British classicism applied to a residence by virtue of its precise, harmonious design and rich detail,” according to historplaces.ca