Sir Peter Blake’s former home has hit the market for sale.
The late sailing legend and his wife Lady Pippa Blake stayed at the waterfront sanctuary at 45-47 Norwood Road, in Bayswater, Auckland, in the 1990s before selling up in 2000.
Architecture firm Fearon Hay extensively renovated the four-bedroom 1920s Arts and Craft home for the couple and Sir Peter himself reportedly crafted the lush 2580sqm grounds, which overlook the harbour and lead down to a private beach.
The current owners have described the house as a "sanctuary", and having a "special energy" and an "ever-changing view".
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"You do feel sort of cocooned in it, but then it's also a blast to entertain in," one of the owners says in a marketing video for the property.
"There's something about this green capsule. You can just relax and feel your energy recharging. It's a house that you really live in. It's a place that has been very hard for people to let go of."
In the same video Bayleys listing agent Linda Simmons says that she's never come across a property as breath-taking as this one in her 10-plus years of selling homes in the Devonport peninsula.
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The property has a 2021 CV of $4.525m and is for sale by negotiation. OneRoof records show it last changed hands in October 2020 for $4.355m. The previous owner, former yachting commentator Rod Slater, bought it off Sir Peter and Lady Pippa in 2000 for $1.5m.
Reporting at the time listed the house as belonging to Auckland lawyer Richard Green, the chairman of the charitable trust that owned Team New Zealand.
Sir Peter, who led Team New Zealand to victory in the America's Cup in 1995 and 2000, had quit the home to move to the UK for a job leading the Cousteau Society. Slater told Stuff in 2019 that Sir Peter, who grew up in Bayswater, had returned for a visit in 2001.
The four-bedroom Art and Craft home was remodelled by architects Fearon Hay. Photo / Supplied
The property is nestled in lush grounds and boasts clear views of the harbour. Photo / Supplied
"A few weeks before he died Sir Peter came to visit to have a look at a few minor changes we had made. He sat here in our lounge with a cup of tea, and six weeks later he was dead in the Amazon," he told Stuff.
Sir Peter was killed by pirates while on an environmental trip in South America.
The house is not the only one on Norwood Road for sale. Another waterfront property several doors along, at number 37, is on the market with a CV of $2.375m. The five-bedroom house, which sits on a 1214sqm section, is being sold by Barfoot & Thompson agent Cici Wang.
It last changed hands in 2017 for $1.85m and has been pitched as an opportunity for someone to build a luxury home on the site.
- 45-47 Norwood Road, in Bayswater, Auckland, is for sale by negotiation
