Remuera: To the manor born

Donna Fleming explores a stately home of grand proportions, full of family memories.

15 Bassett Road, Remuera. Visitors to the Wallace home in Remuera are always wowed when they walk in the front door and see the grand oak-lined lobby and stunning chandeliers.

The house, built in the 1920s, is a Kiwi version of a stately home, with its minstrel's balcony, magnificent fireplaces and huge rooms.

But for Jeremy Drummond and her three sisters, 15 Bassett Road is simply their family home, a place which was always filled with love and laughter.

"It was a wonderful place to grow up," says Jeremy. "There was so much room, and the house was always full of people. My mother was a very sociable person - if she saw someone walking past with a backpack on she'd invite them in for a cup of tea.

"Christmas in particular was always great. The fireplace in the lounge would be decorated with pine and holly and lilies and we'd sing Christmas carols around it."

The Wallaces often had exchange students from overseas staying, and Jeremy recalls one occasion when she and her sisters were out the front painting the fence with a couple of the students.

"A passerby stopped and said they'd always wondered what this place was - was it a home for wayward girls?"

Jeremy's mother Colin and father Bill bought the house, thought to be constructed from double brick, in 1959. It had been built for the mother of George Court, of department store fame. It was later owned by a Mr Orr-Walker, a stipendiary magistrate, before it was sold to the Wallaces.

They made a few changes, such as installing a larger window in the kitchen to let the light flood in and French doors from the lounge out to a north-facing deck. But otherwise, the house still has most of its original features. The proportions in the home are huge, with oversized rooms that are rarely seen in most houses today. The lounge is the size of a small ballroom and the master bedroom is bigger than most people's living rooms.

"We just took it for granted," says Jeremy. "There were always lots of places to play, and it was particularly good for hide and seek because there were so many cupboards you could hide in."

Outside, a laundry behind the single garage has been converted into a bedsit, with shower and toilet, and there's access to the basement.

Like the house, the garden is large, although it's become overgrown.

"My mother was a keen gardener and the garden was always lovely, but sadly, since she died 10 years ago it's got a bit out of control."

Bill Wallace, now 93, has decided to move into a rest home, so it's time for the house to pass to its fourth owners.

"It's very sad to say goodbye after 46 years," says Jeremy. "We've had a long and happy time here and we hope whoever buys it will have the same."

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 1434sq m, house 450sq m approx.

PRICE INDICATION: Interest over $3.5m. Tender closes June 9.

INSPECT: By appointment.

CONTACT: Leila MacDonald, Barfoot and Thompson, ph 524 0149, 021 928 926.

FEATURES: Two-storey 1920s home with grand panelled entrance lobby and gallery landing; feature fireplaces in lounge and dining room; built-in shelving in the library/sunroom; big kitchen with large walk-in pantry; walk-in wardrobes and built-in cabinetry in bedrooms; basement; bedsit attached to garage; deck; central heating.