Renovation

Once the house had been saved in 1967, the responsibility for the repair and renovation of Gately House was taken over by the Border Historical Society who raised funds and had a ‘hands-on’ approach.

There was a general clean up and repainting. The corrugated iron roof over the veranda was replaced and curtains made. The house was re-wired but lack of funding meant that unsightly conduit pipes and light switches with modern metal cases were installed.

In 1987 Gately House was showing signs of age and extensive repairs were needed. The East London Museum decided that renovation and cleaning of the interior could also be undertaken. The Friends of the Museum were drawn in and again much work was ‘hands-on’.

On the exterior, the roof was repaired and the end chimneys replaced. The wooden decorative barge-board and veranda fascia was specially cut and replaced. The cross-bar balustrade replaced the 1967 repairs using the style shown in photographs from the period when the verandas were added.
Walls were repaired and painted. The gutters were replaced and a local plumber was able to use an old moulding machine to produce the correct profile.

In the interior, the industrial conduit pipes were removed, leaving the original wooden box covers. The house was again rewired but the lights were controlled from a single switch at the back. Everything was cleaned from the inside out – major job. This included the ceilings, fireplaces, under the mattresses, all the furniture and the framed pictures. This last was a major project as they had to be removed from their frames and the mounts treated. The lights, walls and cornices were cleaned, repaired and painted.

It was decided to restore the furnishings to the period when John Gately was a leading citizen in East London, the late Victorian period.

It was known that the house had been wall-papered, but none of the original could be found. Research was undertaken and similar designs were chosen from contemporary papers.
The burgundy plush curtains in the parlour and dining room with their fringing and tassel cords were chosen as both the type of fabric and colour were fashionable at the chosen period. The olive green plush was used for the work room. The window valances were based on typical period drapes.
For the bedrooms, it was fortunate that polished cotton chintz with a design fashionable in the elate nineteenth century was available.

East London Museum	Wandering Albatross displaying, Prince Edward Island	East London Museum	East London Museum