A wealthy widower plans to donate to charity the money he earns from selling his stately home in rural Canterbury.
Denver Glass bought the Racecourse Hill Homestead in Darfield, Selwyn, with his late wife Libby in 2017. The couple were looking to replace their much-loved heritage home, Daresbury house, which had been damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes.
Denver, who made his fortune in the meat processing business, said Libby had missed their former home and had been the driving force for the couple’s plans at Racecourse Hill.
“The Darfield property was the closest heritage home [to Daresbury] and it had size and substance and attracted our attention very much,” Denver told OneRoof.
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However, health problems pushed the couple back to Christchurch within five months of taking ownership of Racecourse Hill. Sadly, Libby, who was known in Christchurch for owning the Posh of Holmwood boutique, died in 2020 aged 76 and Denver decided to stay in Christchurch.
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He has decided now is the time to sell and is looking for a new owner to take over the 25.82-hectare estate. “We are looking for an enthusiast,” he told OneRoof.
Racecourse Hill homestead was lucky to survive the 2010 Christchurch earthquake. It was initially written off by insurers, but in 2012 it was purchased by Oxford farmers Bernice and Brian Cribb, who spent $3 million and two years restoring it to its former glory.
The couple’s commitment to the project resulted in the house winning multiple awards including the Canterbury Heritage Award in 2016 and the Registered Master Builder 2016 House of the Year Renovation Award.
They sold the home to the Glasses for $4.6m a year later.
The Glasses also made their mark on the property, with OneRoof reporting in 2021 that they had spent $300,000 on the estate’s impressive pond and waterfall.
The property was restored to its former glory. Photo / Supplied
An aerial view of the property. The homestead sits on 25.82ha. Photo / Supplied
Denver told OneRoof that the proceeds of the sale would be added to his charitable trust, the Tom and Dinah Glass Trust, named after his late parents. The trust supports the Nurse Maude organisation, which provides nursing, palliative care and other services in Canterbury, Nelson/Marlborough and Wellington. It is currently fundraising to build a new $10m purpose-built hospice in Merivale.
Libby was a trained nurse and volunteered at Nurse Maude throughout their 30-plus years of marriage, Denver said. The Glass trust also supports the BrainTree wellness centre for brain health, which assists people living with neurological conditions.
Harcourts agent Jan-Louise Chesmar said the bulk of the work had been done and new owners could move in and live. “Nothing needs to be done to it straight away,” she said, adding that it could be used as a family home, luxury lodge or events centre.
Chesmar said that it was one of the most stunning homes she had ever sold. “In a nutshell, in over 30 years of real estate, we have never been so captivated by a home and just an easy 40-minute drive from Christchurch,” she wrote in her listing on OneRoof.
- 3979 West Coast Road, in Darfield, Selwyn, goes to auction on November 21
