FOR those who can't get enough of period dramas such as Downton Abbey, Wanganui offers a window onto times past. Wandering through the once-luxurious rooms, it's not difficult to imagine the rustle of silk across the parquetry floors or the clinking of crystal glasses in the dining room where a butler's bell still sits above a doorway.
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You'll find a maid's buzzer in the reception room by the front door and a winding timber staircase leading to the upper-level accommodation. An arched leadlight window is a highlight in the living room where there's also soaring ceilings, an original fireplace and a corner window seat.
A huge sunroom sits on the home's western corner and a deep wrap-around verandah along the eastern façade claims serene water views.
The story is that when architect C J Ross took on the commission to build Wanganui, he camped on site to familiarise himself with the lay of the land and determine the best location for the house to maximise light and capitalise on the water outlook.
The river views are a key drawcard of this two-storey brick, stone and roughcast home which has long been a Longueville landmark with its terracotta marseille tiles, tall chimneys and sandstone arches.
The corner turret with its ogee cupola was built as a lookout so that the owners were alerted to the arrival of guests, who, in the days before roads, came by boat.
When the original estate was subdivided in the mid-1900s, care was taken to retain access to the waterfront and the property comes with a private, 10-metre wide sandy beach.
In need of major restoration work, the house is listed as a heritage item with the state government.
Remodelled and added to in 1936 to provide a new kitchen – still intact today complete with vintage McClarry oven – the home also has an upper-level kitchen and living room, and full access to the attic space and turret.
The large expanses of level lawn are surrounded by established gardens on either side of the house. A double garage is on the street front, and a self-contained apartment in need of TLC sits between the garage and main house.