- Leeanne Campbell and Dale Elphick sold their renovated six-bedroom manor in Cashmere to a family.
- The couple restored the "broken castle" over four years, initially planning to run it as a bed and breakfast.
- The sale price exceeded the property's RV of $1.67 million; the couple is moving to Melbourne.
A Christchurch couple who stumbled across their very own broken castle and spent years bringing it back to life have sold it to a family with “quite a few kids” who now get to live out their own fairytale.
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Leeanne Campbell and Dale Elphick said they were sad to leave their six-bedroom manor on Dyers Pass Road, in Cashmere, but were also pleased it was in safe hands.
"We are really excited that it's going to a family, and I think they intend to live in it a long time - some new kings and queens and princes and princesses at The Castle."
Campbell said the timing of the sale couldn't have been better; they settle in mid-May and move to Melbourne at the start of June to be closer to their grandchild.
The buyers had been looking for a large home for quite some time, and then spotted the historic manor on Dyers Pass Road.
Dale Elphick, a qualified builder, quit his job to work full-time renovating and repairing his own home. Photo / Supplied
The spacious kitchen was large enough for all the long-term residents to share. Photo / Supplied
The property, which Campbell and Elphick had planned to run as a luxury bed and breakfast before Covid disrupted everything, was perfect, boasting plenty of bedrooms and living spaces, as well as a pool.
“The [buyer] has quite a few kids, and it works perfectly,” Ray White listing agent Mark Lambie told OneRoof.
Lambie could not disclose the sale price until after settlement, but confirmed it was well in excess of the property's RV of $1.67m.
He said much of the interest had come from large and extended families living in Christchurch, as well as people who wanted to run it as an accommodation business.
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“The feedback was that it was a really warm and inviting home, and a lot of people said once they went through it, they appreciated it a lot more rather than just looking at the photos – the history and the feel of the home.”
Campbell and Elphick told OneRoof in February, when the property hit the market, that they bought the manor more than a decade ago for just under $600,000. The couple never thought they’d be in a position to buy a manor, but the one on Dyers Pass Road was damaged in the earthquakes and was within their reach.
They recalled seeing it for the first time. “We came and had a look at it and looked over the fence, and it was ‘Oh my God!’,” Campbell said.
The home had been propped up with emergency bracing and plywood, which blocked access to the front entrance. “It was like a big broken fairytale [castle].”
A large swimming pool is set on the 1237sqm grounds. Photo / Supplied
Stained glass windows and kauri detailing are among the home’s original features. Photo / Supplied
Dubbing it their “broken castle”, the couple spent four years bringing it back to life.
“It was a massive project,” Elphick said. “Everything needed doing. It was structural and cosmetic.”
The couple eventually opened a luxury bed and breakfast at the property at the end of 2019 and had been doing well until Covid struck three months later. “When Covid hit, all the tourists left, and we didn’t know what to do,” Elphick said.
They were forced to adapt their business model and have been letting four of the six rooms to long-term tenants ever since.
The manor was originally built in 1908 by a local confectioner, but over the years it has been home to lawyers, judges and doctors. Campbell said: “We are very ordinary people – we just got lucky.”
The couple are also extremely proud of what they created. “It’s really like living in a fairytale. We walk around going, ‘Wow, it’s just so beautiful’,” Elphick said.
Campbell said the plan was to rent in Melbourne and work out what the exchange rate was doing before deciding to buy across the ditch.
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