Called to the Castle
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Lifestyle
Restoring Nelson's famous turreted "castle" to its former glory has been a captivating journey into history, heritage and DIY for the owners, as Lynda Papesch discovered.
Ask Jenny and Nick Ferrier about their home and immediately their eyes light up. Home for the couple, their three children – Daniella, Hamish and Isabella – and treasured black labrador dog Vicky is Warwick House in Nelson's Brougham St, popularly known around Nelson as the Castle.
Since buying Warwick House at auction in 2003, the Ferriers have painstakingly restored, renovated and outsourced period fittings to bring the home back to what it once was, but with many conveniences of modern living.
The couple came across Warwick House almost by accident. After 15 years of living and working in Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Germany, they decided it was time to head home.
Both avid outdoor enthusiasts, they were drawn to the South Island and then Nelson by its pace of life and smiling people. Initially they rented a house, which happened to be next door to Warwick House.
"She actually chose us," says Mrs Ferrier, "not the other way around.
"We'd been here about three weeks and the For Sale sign went up next door. That night, as I was looking up at the night sky, the Southern Cross was pointing right at the Castle. Time just stood still."
For Mrs Ferrier, a competitive windsurfer and sailor whose life was often guided by the Southern Cross, the sign could not have been more obvious.
Already fascinated by what she'd seen when peeking through the large overgrown garden, she convinced Mr Ferrier that's where their future lay and, soon after, they bought the house at auction.
It was their first introduction to a heritage building, and Warwick House was full of surprises: some nice, others not-so-nice and many a lot of hard work.
With Mr Ferrier still overseas, Mrs Ferrier and the three children, then aged 11, nine and three, were helped by family and friends to start turning the house into a home.
The furniture arrived and it fitted perfectly. "It was quite uncanny; it was made for this house," she says.
At that stage, parts of the house, which had been divided into flats, were still tenanted, but a chance remark changed all that. "I was asked if I'd seen the ballroom. I didn't even know there was one," she says.
A thorough exploration of the house inside and out revealed several hidden architectural treasures. Most were still intact or capable of restoration.
"Once we found the ballroom, we made the decision to restore. Out went the tenants and in came the sledgehammers."
Other finds included four internal archways and a set of stairs that had been boarded up for 70 years, a hidden wine cellar, original leadlight windows, the original bell wire system, several antique doors and the original coal gas piping system.
Both Mr and Mrs Ferrier were used to grand old homes and both subscribed to the Kiwi DIY ethos, tackling numerous tasks themselves. Along the way, they learned a lot and found people only too happy to dish out advice.
"Structurally, the house was sound but it had no insulation, needed re-wiring, re-plastering in many places and a lot of the fittings had vanished over the years," Mr Ferrier says.
One of their first projects was to tackle the gateposts, removing four layers of paint. "We were at it for six weeks, all day, every day, but it was made easier by comments from passers-by such as: `Keep going love, you're doing a great job'," Mrs Ferrier says.
When it came to dressing the house to suit its grand heritage, Mrs Ferrier's interior design background came to the fore, as did the family's love of antiques, auction rooms and secondhand stores.
Much of the early restoration was completed by the end of 2004, when they opened Warwick House as a luxury bed and breakfast, with four large suites and one double room. While they regularly have paying guests, it is still their home and one they're proud to show off – especially the gallery, with its old photographs, paintings and historic memorabilia related to the house.
In addition to opening the house for tours by appointment, the Ferriers offer high tea at Warwick House every second weekend in summer and once a month in winter. The next is this Sunday afternoon.
HOUSE WITH A HISTORY
Warwick House, originally known as Sunnyside, dates back to 1854, when it was built by Alfred Fell, one of the region's first arrivals and a successful merchant. His son Charles Fell later became Mayor of Nelson.
In 1860, Alfred Fell returned to England, selling his assets to Nathaniel Edwards, who made his mark by adding a wing on the back and then the large ballroom and four-storey tower on the front. When completed, the property was insured for the incredible amount of 130,000, about $14 million today.
Nathaniel Edwards died in 1880, after which the property was leased to Sir David Munro MP, one of Nelson's leading early politicians. Later it operated as a "gentlemen's boarding house", then closed for about 10 years. In 1915 it was bought by a Charles Pharazyn, who removed the south wing and two towers.
In 1941 it was divided into five internal apartments and remained that way for 70 years until purchased by current owners Jenny and Nick Ferrier.
Major features include: Two large oriel windows, Five large bay windows, A 93sqm ballroom with sprung 28mm matai dance floor, Original Victorian walnut paintwork effects, Four-storey octagonal tower with a large peaked lead roof, Solid kauri ceilings, walls, weatherboards and most doors, Lath and plaster walls, Welsh slate roof comprising 7000 individual tiles and 1840s cast iron gates and gateposts from England
- Nelson journalist Lynda Papesch will profile stately and historic homes around the region each fortnight in Lifestyle.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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