LIONHEART
(The R.N. Greig House)
The Story of The R.N. Greig
House begins in the year 1894. In May of that year a young doctor by
the name of Llewellyn Brock moved to the Lion’s Head area.. Dr. Brock
took a wife Jean Scott from Swan Lake, the daughter of P.A. Scott.
Lion’s Head would not be incorporated for another 23 years, therefore
all legal documents for the property are registered in Eastnor Township.
Construction of the House likely
began in 1897 or earlier and was completed in the summer of 1898. There
are two pieces of information that occurred during the construction
phase of which we are absolutely certain. First, Llewellyn Brock never
moved into the house, he died in April of 1898. Second, the staircase
leading to the upstairs was completed July 17 ‘98. This second piece of
information was uncovered during the removal of the faux finish on the
pine stringer during renovations in the Spring of 2008. For years this
section of the stairway was not visible due to an add-on front hall
closet.
The house that Llewellyn Brock
had built for himself and his new bride was a 30'x40' wood frame house
with wood siding painted red. The house had a centre staircase. The
original house did not have a basement, insulation, central heating,
plumbing or electricity. The walls on the gable ends are balloon
framed. The side walls are “western” framed, the studs have a top plate
on which the second floor joists sit. All exterior walls had 1" lumber
nailed on each side of the stud. The ceiling height on the first floor
is 9 feet high. Most partition studs (rough sawn 2x4's) on the upper
level were built on their flat, they were nailed on the side of the
floor joists indicating that the flooring (1" maple) was installed after
the framing was complete. The floor joists at the rear of the house are
full length, 25 feet.
The roof is a basic A frame that
rests on plates nailed to the top of the 2nd story floor
joists. The pitch is 10 foot rise on 12 foot run. The rafters are
generally rough cut 2x5's at generally 16" on centre with 2x4 collar
ties (ceiling joists) 8' above the upper floor. Early pictures show a
dormer on the south side. The framing of the 2 small dormers on the
south side of  the house were consistent with the framing on the rest of
the house. The rear dormer on the south side had been altered over the
year. There may have been a window in this area when the house was
built but the one removed during the 2008 renovations was not an
original, and the shed dormer above was an obvious “add-on”.
Three chimneys were removed
during the 2008 renovations. The kitchen chimney likely built in the
last 45 years sat on a concrete footing in the basement. The other
two chimneys removed were likely built by Dr. Brocks masons. These
two chimneys did not have their origins on a concrete footing but
rested on shelving and framing on the second floor at the centre of
each gable end. A picture of the west side of the house taken after
the “quick brick” was installed and before the steel roof, shows the
three brick chimneys exiting the roof, the two originals on the
gable ends and the kitchen chimney built in the 1960's . The only
chimney still standing is a masonry chimney on the rear of the house
that services the oil furnace.
On November 12 1898 Jean
Scott Brock sold property (likely the R.N. Greig house) situated on
Lot-28 Con. 6 EBR Eastnor, to R.E. Moore. “Deed of Land” No. 1378
was duly signed by Jean Scott Brock in the presence of Margaret
Violet Ramage, Book Keeper for the Village of Lion’s Head.
The history of Lion’s Head
captured in Maitland Warders book “Benchmarks”claims that Jean Scott
Brock moved to Toronto. She may have. But it is interesting to note
that a year later December 27, 1899 she executed another “Deed of
Land” for the same property Part Lot 28 C 6 E.B.R. Eastnor, to the
same party R.E. Moore, in Windsor, Essex County.
At this time not a great
deal is known of the early inhabitants of this house. We know that
R.E. Moore bought the house. Did he live in it? He may have lived
there until he built the large brick home on Moore street known today
as the Moore house. R.E. Moore had a son W.B. Moore. W.B. Moore’s
daughter reported that they lived in the R.N. Greig house for a
period of time. The Moore’s were store keepers. R.E. owned the
large store on Webster street located where “Hellyers” store is
today, and W.B. owned the store where “Marydales” restaurant is
today. When the writer of this history moved to Lion’s Head in 1958
the W.B. Moore store was still in operation and Minnie Sensabaugh
the local Justice of the Peace was the clerk. More than one
“allowance” was spent buying candy out of the glass display case.
Thirty years after
construction of the house began it was purchased by R.N. (Roy) Greig. Roy moved from Barrow Bay a few years earlier (he had the
general store there) when he purchased the General Store on Webster
street from R.E. Moore.
I refer to this house as the
“R.N. Greig house” because for the next eighty years it would be
inhabited by a member of his family. The last several years their
youngest daughter Madeline has lived in and operated an Antique
store from the house.
 Roy and Kate had 6 children:
Morgan, Thelma, Allan, Norma, Madaline and Keith. Morgan who served
in the Pacific Theatre during the II WW returned home and helped his
father in the store. Morgans daughter Jeanette and husband Bob
Hellyer bought the store from Morgan in the 1970's and it is now
owned by their son Steve and his wife Cathy.
The writer worked at “R.N.
Greig and Sons” in 1969. Morgan was the boss, but R.N. was a daily
presence. R.N. had a face disfigured by lip cancer (he smoked a
pipe for many years) but a sharp business mind that knew the value
of a nickel.
R.N. knew adversity. During
the height (or depth) of the depression in the 30's the large proud
store on Webster street burned to the ground. He rebuilt on the same
site. The store remained virtually the same for fifty years. In
about 1985 Bob Hellyer added a large addition to the east of the
store and once again the writers life became entwined with the
Greigs. The writer was the Contractor for this project.
Thelma and her husband moved
to the Western United States.
Allan farmed on lot 28 and
29 Con. 5 EBR
Norma married well and lived
happily ever after .
Madaline married Milt Hewton,
they moved to Kitamat B.C. until their retirement when they returned
to Lion’s Head and eventually took up residence at 89 Main
Street.
Keith, the baby, was a big
shot with Ontario Hydro and lives with his wife in Port Elgin.
The Interior of Llewellyn
and Jean Scott Brocks new home would have been modern but not
stunning. Most of the materials were local. It was relatively large
since he planned on practicing medicine from this location. The
interior walls and ceiling were all lath and plaster. Over the
years the lath and plaster received numerous coats of paint and wall
paper. Over time the lath and plaster dried out and the ceilings
were covered with strapping and 12" square tiles.
When electricity came to
Lion’s Head in the 1940's the Greigs modernized their home. Up until
the 2008 renovations, the original “knob and tube” wiring was still
in use. The light fixture that once hung in the Living Room now
graces the front hall ceiling.
Not certain when indoor
plumbing first came to the R.N. Greig house, but the first bathroom
was on the main floor in Bedroom #1. This bathroom was eventually
moved to a room directly to the north and now serves as an en suite.
In recent years a stacking washer and dryer was in the closet of
this bathroom This bathroom is the only room in the house that was
not renovated during the 2008 renovations. You can still observe the
ceiling tile, the original windows and a sampling of wall paper.
A second bathroom was
eventually installed upstairs during the age of cast iron drains and
galvanized pressure lines.
The original water supply
was a well dug through the shore stone. The well is an amazing 33' deep and on June 8, 2009 had 15' of water. The house sits on a stone
ridge that was created when the water level of Georgian Bay was
higher. The well was supplemented by a cistern. According to youngest
son Keith the cistern is under the deck at the back door. The house
is now connected to the Municipal water supply which takes it's water
from Georgian Bay.
The
basement (under one half of the house) was added by Dan Shaw, he used
the stone from the excavation. Originally there was a crawl
space under the kitchen that was used as a root cellar. Access
into the root cellar was via a trap door in the kitchen floor.
The outline of this door is still visible.
Various attempts at insulating
the house were undertaken over the years. Batts were placed in any area
that was accessible, and at some point holes were drilled in the plaster
and cellulose fibres blown into the cavity between studs. During the
2008 renovations all insulation was removed and polyurethane insulation
sprayed between the studs on all exterior walls and between the rafters
on the sloping ceilings. R40 cellulose insulation was blown on the flat
ceiling, all walls and ceilings have 6 mil poly vapour barrier.
Inspection of the wood floors in
the R.N. Greig house reveals lots of patched holes. These patched holes
bear testimony to the various forms of heat throughout the history of
the home. We know for sure that a wood fired kitchen stove was in the
kitchen, many black cinder marks on the kitchen floor indicate that the
kitchen was indeed a warm place to be.
Perhaps the most interesting
feature of the home is it’s location, and the trees and gardens that
surround it. The lot on which the home is situated is 128 feet wide by
309 feet deep and the home is set nearly on the back boundary. The house is
accessed by a circular drive. There are a large variety of trees
including: white cedar, white pine, chestnut, cherry, maple and perhaps
most amazing of all, elm. There is always something in bloom.
 On December 15, 2007, 80 years
after R.N Greig and family started calling the house home it was
purchased by Douglas and Marlene Hill. They were not long determining
that the building was sound, relatively straight and possessed a charm
and character that could not be mimicked. Thus in January 2008 began a
remodel of the up stairs, which soon became a remodel of the lower level
as well.
3100 man hours and counting have
literally transformed this amazing building. We invite you to enjoy the
fruit of our visions and labour. We invite you to enjoy the peace and
beauty of the park-like setting.
The people who have owned this
home have known the heart beat of the community. Llewellyn Brock, R.E.
Moore, W.B. Moore and R.N. Greig, all notably respected citizens. They
have watch the small coastal port grow into the cultural and business
heart of the Bruce Peninsula.
And for those of us who have been
fortunate enough to grow up in this blessed place, we will always carry
a part of it in our heart.
As far as we know Dr. Brock
never slept in the home he had built on the main street of Lion’s Head.
Never had a meal between it’s walls. Never read a book curled up in a
chair. Never saw the trees mature or the flowers grow. But he had dreams
of a fine home on a magnificant piece of property. Come share the dream,
Welcome to Lionheart! | 
History