Restoration a satisfying journey of discovery

MARTIN DE RUYTER

GRANDEUR RETURNED: Warwick House owners Jenny and Nick Ferrier.

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If Nick Ferrier can't sleep at night, he counts windows.

He has 350 in his Nelson house, as well as 55 doors, and they are ingrained in his mind because they are part of a huge restoration project now completed.

Mr Ferrier and his wife, Jenny, who own Warwick House, have received a Tasman and Nelson Environment Heritage Award for restoring the historic building.

Better known to Nelsonians as The Castle, it was built in 1854 for Alfred Fell. He sold it to wealthy businessman Nathaniel Edwards, founder of the Anchor shipping company, who expanded it to 55 rooms. Sunnyside, as it was known, was a grand Victorian Gothic home with towers, but by the time the Ferriers discovered it in 2003 it was "a complete disaster".

The Ferriers bought it following an auction for $1.1 million, and didn't even realise a three-bedroom flat in it had once been the ballroom.

The house had been divided into five flats, which over 70 years had seen a lot of tenants but not much care.

The Ferriers, who had returned to New Zealand with their three children from working in Hong Kong, set about restoring the neglected building, believed to be the oldest substantial house in the South Island.

They pulled out windows and discovered arches, took out lowered ceilings to discover ornate ones, uncovered walled-in stairs, took away 14 six-metre containers of garden overgrowth, and had to use a crane to paint the high western side of the building.

The sheer size of the restoration sometimes seemed overwhelming, but it was the discoveries and support along the way that kept them going.

Like finding two leadlight windows bearing the Edwards family crest through a descendant who has allowed the Ferriers to borrow them, and then discovering four more at the Nelson Provincial Museum.

They have had numerous people who had lived in the house come to relate their stories and add to the historical jigsaw puzzle with paintings, maps and memorabilia.

However, they did not realise how interested Nelsonians were until they took part in a Suter Gallery fundraiser, opened their doors to the public, and 900 people walked through.

The project, which has involved turning one wing into boutique bed and breakfast accommodation, took two years fulltime plus another four, leaving the Ferriers feeling relieved and satisfied.

Nelsonians can appreciate it if they attend Sunday afternoon high tea in the ballroom and the house is likely to be open for touring during Heritage Week in March.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime restoration and it's a great that we've done something good," Mr Ferrier said. "I was running a business in Hong Kong and it was exciting, but it's something somebody else could do. This is a legacy and hopefully the house will be here in another 100 years. It is so well built it will outlast most younger homes."

His next project is to compile a book on the history of the house.

- © Fairfax NZ News