116 Paradise Lane: The Charles Durling House

Architecture Style: Second Empire

Built: 1892

Charles Durling built this house on the site of the former Paradise Hotel, as seen in old pictures of Paradise Lane. The Bridgetown Monitor of 1892 noted that Charles Durling’s house had just been completed; people would be noticing the Second Empire house, with its distinctive roof and dormers every time they crossed the well-travelled Paradise Lane.

Charles and his son Clarence were blacksmiths, and their wives ran a new Paradise Hotel which catered to travelling salesmen, vacationers, and visitors. In 1918 Bessie Durling Bent, Clarence’s daughter, hosted the founding meeting of the Paradise Women’s Institute in this house.  The last Charter Member of the Institute, Bessie lived into the 21^st century and remained a faithful friend of the Paradise W.I. all her life.

After the Second World War,  Percy and Luella Marshall moved here from Port Lorne. Percy was the mail driver for Paradise RR 1. Their children- Gordon, Gerald, and Muriel- grew up in this house, and later, Gerald’s daughter Joan.  Luella was active in the community and a friend to village children, a special kind of person. Her warm hospitality allowed “the girls” many happy hours of play in the rambling upstairs of the former Hotel, and of course, each visit ended with refreshments on the front verandah swing.

In 1995 Kim and Claude Grimard bought the house. Claude, from Quebec, and Kim, from Dartmouth, were typical of so many “Greenwood People” who lived in Paradise; they were good stewards of their Paradise houses. Kim was an avid Women’s Institute member, and both were committed citizens of the village. As well as operating The Paradise Inn once more, this time as a Bed and Breakfast, they were part of any events which improved or promoted our village, whether it was Adopt-a-Highway cleanups, community Christmas lights, welcome to newcomers, or trips to the Municipal Council.