A medieval castle in the middle of Waikato sold last month for $1.35 million.
The five-bedroom brick and block house on Moxham Road, Te Awamutu, was put on the market in April and was under contract three weeks later, the Ray White agent who marketed the property Gillian van der Veeken told OneRoof.
Van der Veeken, who worked with colleague Lisa McBeth on the property, said that there was very good interest in the castle from a mix of buyers looking for an unusual home and folks considering business ventures they could run from the property.
The new owners, Lisa Hamilton and John Pettman, run their business from Te Awamutu, and were looking to move from their home in Te Kuiti, but the new-builds and regular houses they saw weren’t getting them excited.
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“We didn’t even know it was advertised, we drove past and saw they had an open home sign,” Hamilton said.
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“We had been looking for a while at newer homes and they were all starting to look the same. We just fell in love with this, it has so much character. John fell for the exterior; I loved the interior.”
Like all good medieval castles, the five-bedroom home, complete with a four-storey turret, was well set up for the multi-generational family that includes their father and a 15-year-old grandson.
Waipa Bricklayers boss Howard Bright put his heart and soul into the castle he started building in 2005, while his wife Helen Bright created the 'brilliant' gardens. Photo / Supplied
A lot of the materials used to build the castle were recycled. Photo / Supplied
“He’s 15 and thinks it’s so cool. He gets the top floor because he does the stairs. Dad doesn’t do stairs, so he gets the ground floor bedroom and we’re in the middle. Everyone’s got their space,” she said.
The family has only been in the house a couple of weeks, so are still getting used to their unusual home. Gardeners are helping to clear the overgrown section (the previous owner was not living on site), and Hamilton’s father is unpacking gear for his wood workshop in the medieval-style garage.
“We’re making a list to keep him busy,” Hamilton said, adding that their five grown children and 13 grandkids, aged from 2 to 16, were looking forward to playing in the pool, while Pettman has his eye on the brick fireplace and barbecue on the deck and bringing the lawns up to his well-groomed standard.
It took nine months to build the 337sqm tower house with a roof terrace and bathtub overlooking the garden. Photo / Supplied
Many of the details were hand-made by friends and family. Photo / Supplied
The roomy kitchen and living room will be put to use hosting Halloween this year and then Christmas banquet, Hamilton said. Stormy spring weather means she’s barely had a chance to try out the roof deck, complete with bathtub, that has views to the surrounding countryside.
“It’s just an adventure, it’s going to become a hobby for us all. We’re in the honeymoon phase,” she said.
The castle, which sits on 4980sqm of landscaped gardens, was a labour of love for the original owners, brick layer Howard Bright and his wife Helen. The couple, with the help of their three teenage boys, started building the castle, complete with battlements and turrets, in 2005 and the project was completed in just nine months. A cabinet-maker son hand-built the cabinets, while Howard did the building and brickwork, and Helen created the gardens which have hosted fundraisers for local charities.
The medieval styling extends to the three bathrooms - but with modern plumbing. Photo / Supplied
Gothic-style windows and block work continue the theme in the five-bedroom home. Photo / Supplied
The woman the Brights sold to in 2018 ran it as a stylish bed and breakfast, La Paloma Castle. Not long after it was sold again, in 2020, the new owner moved back home to Northland. The Brights, who are known in the district for their creative architecture, have since built and sold an English-style and French country-style houses.
“I guess it was a bit like a playhouse, a bit of a novelty. But after a few years of living there, you put all that aside and it just feels like home,” Helen Bright said.
The 337sqm home features recycled brick and timbers, flagstone floors in the open-plan kitchen and living area, and multiple other living areas and office. The internal access garage is currently used as a rumpus room, and the earlier bed-and-breakfast owners had converted a single garage into more accommodation.
The property had a 2019 ratable value of $1.21m and sold last in 2020 for $1.1m.
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