The Gables, one of the oldest houses in the region and the belle of Waimea, is for sale after being dramatically restored from a derelict shell.
When Lorraine and Keith Davis purchased The Gables at Waimea West in 2017, there were no floorboards upstairs, water was pouring through the roof, and both ends of the house needed to be propped up by steel rods.
Keith says the two-storied house with its six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, five “reception rooms” and two sets of staircases had stood derelict for 30 to 40 years, a few years longer and it would have been beyond renovation.
“It was walking and falling-through-the-floor derelict. The southern and northern walls bowed out in the middle, so had to be totally rebuilt down to the foundations. Now, it’s exactly the same as it once was.”
The Gables has been a landmark since it was built in 1864 by its owner John Palmer, who modelled it on a home in Suffolk, England. It began as a family home and Lorraine says it became a hotel, with a shop at the front and the local post office in a lean-to. A large area at the rear was called the ballroom where she says locals used to meet for dances.
Keith undertook much of the renovation work himself with plenty of support from Lorraine. With the hard yards done to renovate the 480 square-metre belle of Waimea and time to sit back and relax a bit, the couple have decided it is now time for them to downsize.
“We just rattle around in it,” Keith says. “It needs a big family or needs to become a bnb (bed and breakfast).”
The Gables is a Category 1 listed Historic Places Trust home and Lorraine and Keith have restored it in keeping with its heritage. The price tag says enquiries over $2.5 million.
