- Invercargill’s Category 1 heritage mansion Lennel House is relisted for $699,000 after a $300,000 reduction.
- Built in the early 1880s, the eight-bedroom manor retains original features across its 1.29ha grounds.
- Heritage protections limit alterations and subdivision, but the relisting drew strong local interest.
A heritage mansion etched in Invercargill’s history is back on the market for sale for $699,000 – after a $300,000 price drop.
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Known as Lennel House, the eight-bedroom manor at 102 Albert Street, in Gladstone, has been on and off the market since 2024 and was initially priced at $1m.
But with the vendors now no longer living at the property, efforts to sell have been redoubled.
The Category 1 Heritage home is one of the city’s most significant landmarks, dating back to the early 1880s when New Zealand Surveyor-General John Turnbull Thomson cleared part of the Waihopai forest to establish a family homestead and country garden on the 1.29ha property.
Thomson built a home large enough to accommodate his nine daughters, and it remained in the family’s hands for more than 100 years before changing hands in the early 90s.
Laura Thompson and her partner Will Finlayson bought the property from Finlayson’s father Denys in 2021, and told OneRoof that the updated price showed they were ready to meet the market.
Thompson said: “It’s a very hard property to price – it’s almost impossible to price. There’s nothing comparable, so we are just trying to be realistic.”
The eight-bedroom manor has many of its original features, including native timber. Photo / Supplied
The price reduction reflects the restrictions associated with the property, which limited what can be done to the historic house and gardens.
Thompson said they loved the house but could not give it the time it deserved.
“We have three young children and two businesses – it’s just a very hard time to be able to put in the effort and time that it needs, but for the right person it would be an amazing thing to take on. There’s so much you could do with it.”
She added: “You just don’t want to see it sit there. It’s not good for them to be empty. They need airflow and all of that. It would be nice to see somebody else take it on and give it what it deserves.”
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Thompson’s in-laws, Denys and Jocelyn Finlayson, bought the property in 1998 at a mortgagee sale (the previous owner bought it off the original family and had only owned it for a few years) and spent more than 20 years renovating it.
Many of its original features, including intricate coffered ceilings, polished timber floors and marble fireplaces, remain.
Thompson said she and Will had spruced up the sprawling grounds, which are home to several notable plantings. Among them is a copper beech imported from the UK and planted at Lennel to mark Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee, while a collection of rhododendrons is protected in the district plan.
Thompson said the couple had found Heritage New Zealand good to deal with.
The 1.3ha grounds contains some significant historic plantings. Photo / Supplied
“People think because of the covenants and everything it’s too hard – it’s not,” she said.
Ray White agent listing Hannah Mason said the property was well known in the city, with crowds coming out for the first open home since it was relisted on September 2.
She said cars were parked bumper-to-bumper along the surrounding streets. “It was the busiest open home we’ve ever had in our real estate career,” McRobie said. “It’s not your standard three-bedroom, one-bathroom home.”
The agents said much of the buyer interest had come from the Southland area.
Among those to view the property were a builder and his wife, who were considering a renovation project of their own, while others saw potential to convert it into a venue.
There was also interest from out-of-town buyers, but it quickly faded once they realised the heritage protections ruled out any chance of a subdivision.
- 102 Albert Street, in Gladstone, Invercargill, is for sale for $699,000
