After two years of performing requisite upgrades on the 184-year-old estate house, Willowbank is opening on Saturday, June 2 for campus tours.

The renovations cost about $1.2 million to bring the building up to code requirements for barrier free accessibility, fire safety, heating, ventilating, electricity, communications and restoration.

The house also has a new serving kitchen and some additional touches which replicate the Hamilton family house of 1836 to 1936, while retaining all the wallpaper evidence of the Bright family house from 1936 to 1966, said Willowbank in a media release. 

The Willowbank House is currently used as a school of the restoration arts and is currently developing as museum and research centre.

Heritage conservation work will continue on in the building, while considerable work is also still to be done maintaining the historic Laura Secord Public School which Willowbank purchased in 2012 and to complete a drystone wall building that is unique in North America.

Willowbank wishes to extend its gratitude for funding from Parks Canada and the RED Program as well as the Weathertop Foundation USA, the Urban family, and Elizabeth Oliver-Malone.

Tours run at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.