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Published on: 1/1/2003
Last Visited: 1/6/2006
When John Davenport retired, he dedicated himself to the task of restoring his great-grandmothers house on Catawba Island.
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Davenport, an accomplished chef, will provide dinner for guests, on request, or put on cooking classes for anybody who wants to learn.
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When Davenport took on the challenge, his great-grandmothers mansion was unfit for human habitation.It had stood empty since the 1960s, when the last family members moved away.A squatter was using the building as a kind of nursery where he raised rabbits (for market) and earthworms (for fish bait).The roof had been leaking for years; the interior walls were as mushy as oatmeal.Marie Rhodes landmark tower leaned so badly it swayed in the wind whenever a storm blew through.
Everybody said it was hopeless, but I needed a place to retire to, and I needed a way to pay for the restoration, which would be a monumental task, says Davenport.Making it a B&B seemed like a logical step, since the area is a favorite with tourists.
It took Davenport three years to gut the place.He did much of the grunt work himself.The bones of the big house were salvageable, but the interior walls were too decrepit, and most of the old lath-and-plaster walls had to be ripped out and replaced.He managed to save the fancy lintels that once capped the windows.These he restored by hand and brought inside, where they now cap the interior doors, giving the place a great Victorian flair.
Its a wonderful mixture of old and new, with lots of startling adaptations.In the kitchen, great-grandfather Edwards enormous wooden ladder he once made a living as a house painter is suspended across the full length of the kitchen ceiling like a gigantic rack, from which antique pots and pans are hung.
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Never one to throw away a useable object, John had the backboard and keyboard bolted onto the wall, where it makes a cheery space for guests to stash their liquor and mix their drinks.
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