A stately home in Timaru has hit the market looking for a history buff to restore it to its former glory.
Built more than 140 years ago, Ashfield Manor occupies a 1.24-hectare site on Cass Street in Temuka, and is listed for sale with Harcourts agents Julian Blanchard and Sam Williamson.
The two-storey Italian-style home is owned by Lorraine and Michael Prentice, who bought the property in 2013 for $1.65 million, after shifting to New Zealand from Sydney.
It was a big life change for the couple, who had lived in the hustle and bustle of Australia’s biggest city for 30 years.
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“Michael was, in another life, an art teacher, and I studied art and the history of buildings,” Lorraine told OneRoof.
“We were looking at Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Victorian properties, and when we visited Ashfield we fell in love with it.”
The couple brought their collection of Victorian furniture, which fitted the six-bedroom home perfectly.
Before the Covid pandemic, the couple ran an events business out of the manor and at one point, Ashfield was hosting a wedding a week.
“Lots of people came here because it was a one-stop thing,” Lorraine said. “You could have your wedding on the grounds and the reception [at the manor]. We’ve had birthdays and baby showers and wedding showers.”
The manor was built more than 140 years ago. Before Covid it regularly hosted weddings. Photo / Supplied
The gardens are a standout feature. Photo / Supplied
The couple also offered high teas and hosted community events such as Timaru Plunket’s Big Easter Egg hunt, and Princess and Pirate parties.
The couple’s children and grandchildren followed them over the ditch and now live nearby in Timaru. “We’ve really established ourselves in Canterbury,” Lorraine said.
She told OneRoof that Ashfield’s gardens were a source of pride for the couple. “There are other historical houses around, but they don’t have the grounds. You don’t get hundred-year-old, or older trees, in the grounds like we do.”
The original property was reportedly seven or eight acres in size, but over the years, land was carved off and sold. The Prentices recently subdivided their land, although they felt a tad guilty doing so. "It didn’t impinge on the home itself,” said Lorraine. “You have to be realistic in what people can utilise. The beauty of the place remains – the trees, the river, and the aspect.”
Ashfield manor was built by early Temuka settlers and haberdashers Job and Elizabeth Brown, who established Bee Hive Stores in the town. The home passed to the Browns’ only daughter Amelia.
The house has a strong European vibe in terms of its design. Photo / Supplied
When Amelia married the wealthy Lieutenant-Colonel John Hayhurst she moved to an even larger Temuka mansion: Green Hayes. But a few short years after the tragic death of her husband, who was by then mayor of Temuka, Amelia returned to spend the rest of her life at Ashfield manor.
Hayhurst lost his life driving to Timaru to wave off two of the couple’s sons who had enlisted in the army at the beginning of World War One. The Timaru Herald reported on August 15, 1914, that Hayhurst was driving his torpedo-shaped Darracq car, which he had just imported, when a dog ran out onto the road, forcing an oncoming motorcyclist to swerve. Mayor Hayhurst attempted to avoid crashing, but his car overturned into a water-race and he died at the scene. Following the accident only one son was shipped out to the war, and both survived.
Williamson said the listing had already attracted a lot interest, much of it from buyers across the South Island. She told OneRoof the gardens and grounds were standout features, noting that she had been similarly smitten when she first saw them.
She said the property, which has an RV of $2.11m, was for sale by negotiation.
- 71 Cass Street, in Temuka, Timaru, is for sale by way of price by negotiation
