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EAST
GOSHEN -- The British
have invaded, at least at the Tory Inne.
The
owner who runs the bed and breakfast along Route 352, Linda
Waterhouse-Koski,
said she has spent the past five years restoring the inn, which was
originally built in 1800. The theme is distinctly British.
But it
is not the first time the British have moved in. More than 200 years
ago, British troops marched past the area.
"On Sept. 16 and 17 in 1777, after the
Battle
of the Brandywine, General Lord Charles Cornwallis, Major General James
Grant and General William Howe came right through Goshenville," said
Waterhouse-Koski.
The three men, along with more than 13,000 troops, met at what now is
the intersection of Route 352 and Paoli Pike just up the road, she said.
Howe was the supreme commander of the British forces in North America.
The inn’s three suites, which range from $175 to $195 a night, are named
after the three British generals who walked by the location more than
200 years ago.
Portraits of British dignitaries and lords and artifacts are featured
throughout the inn, which opened in March.
Renovations included painstakingly removing the original window panes
and cutting them to fit new, hand-made, wood windows, she said. The
floors downstairs had to be replaced due to bug damage, but the floors
upstairs were restored.
"At 204 years old, it’s amazing how it has stood the test of time," said
Waterhouse-Koski.
Waterhouse-Koski, an admitted Anglophile, grew up with both British
parents and grandparents, she said. She naturally became interested in
British history.
"Then I got interested in the American rebellion. That is how the
British put it," she said.
The house did not exist at the time that the three British generals
marched by but after it was built, it became the area’s general store
and post office, she said.
The original portion of the home, which is listed on the National
Register of Historic Homes, was built in 1800, she said. But an addition
to the front was added and it was used as a general store from 1806 to
1923. It was used as a post office from 1828 to 1904 and had 19
postmasters.
In her
research, she found that at one point the general store had a total of
1,500 pairs of shoes in addition to other household items like brooms,
she said.
The front porch of the general store acted as a loading dock "where the
Conestoga wagons would line up front," she said.
Ceiling hooks, which most likely aided in the display of goods, still
are present in the ceiling, said Waterhouse-Koski.
Waterhouse-Koski runs the inn completely by herself and says it is a
"24-7" job. The job entails the managing, cleaning and cooking, which
includes waking up at
5 a.m.
to bake popovers and scones for the guests to accompany a full English
breakfast..
And, yes, tea is served daily every afternoon for guests from
4
to
5 p.m.
"It’s something I really enjoy doing. I enjoy people," she said.
However, she hasn’t always been in the inn-keeping business, but does
have a family history in the field. An ancestor of hers once ran an inn
in Rye, England.
"It may be in the blood. I am not sure," said Waterhouse-Koski.
Before coming to the county, she worked six years for IBM in the
marketing and sales department, she said. She then left and started her
own company, Canterbury Associates Ltd., where she worked for 9 years.
After moving to
Illinois
with her husband, Bob Koski, she opened a bed and breakfast there called
Tunbridge Place, she said. But then they moved again to
Washington,
D.C., where she found she really wanted to open an inn again.
In 1998, she bought the
East
Goshen
structure and began restoring it not only as her home, but also as an
inne, she said.
The bed and breakfast is the only one in the township, she said.
Township Manager Rick Smith said that when Waterhouse-Koski approached
the township about allowing the use, they worked together to develop an
ordinance allowing her to operate.
"She was the first one. There was not anyone before," said Smith.
The ordinance was adopted in 2002, he said. "Before that nobody had ever
came up with the idea."
The ordinance, though developed for Waterhouse-Koski, was written to
limit the uses for structures built before 1940, he said.
"We were trying to limit it to historic buildings," said Smith.
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