Lansellstowe
by AF
Lansellstowe, Bendigo
$1,890,000
Lansellstowe is a 3-storey mansion built in 1913 for Leonard Vere Lansell, son of mining entrepreneur George Lansell. Leonard originally bought ‘Vahlands’ (58 Barkly Street) and had Lansellstowe built in the extensive gardens. The block was later subdivided into two blocks.
The home was designed in an Italian Renaissance style by architects William Beebe and G.D. Garvin. Beebe had also designed ‘Fortuna Villa’ (also currently for sale) and together with Garvin, designed ‘Dendereh’ for the Lansell family.
Leonard and his family later moved to a pastoral property called ‘Charsingh’ and also resided in ‘Fortuna Lodge’ at Lorne.
Lansellstowe remains a legacy of the wealthy gold mining period, and is reportedly the last old mansion to have been built in Bendigo prior to social changes brought about by the Great War and the closure of the local mines.
Lansellstowe in 1979 – State Library of Victoria
The current owners purchased the house in 1991 and spent a significant amount of time and money restoring the property. The house has more than 20 rooms and features include pressed metal ceilings, parquetry flooring, a hand-carved mahogany staircase, reception hall with 18th century French chandelier, grand ballroom, banquet dining room, a marble bath and shower similar to the one in Fortuna Villa and a gentlemen’s lounge with a custom-made bar engraved with Leonard’s initials.
The house once contained an entrance that led directly to the network of Lansell family gold mines. The nuggets harvested from below Bendigo were taken up into the home’s cellar and stored within its 60 cm thick walls. The entrance to the mine shaft has since been sealed.
During the war, Lansellstowe was used as a barracks for the Australian Women’s Army Service. In 1949, after renting the property for two years, the home was acquired by the Hospitals Commission as a nurses’ home for staff of the Bendigo Branch Hospital. The Commission had plans to convert the home into a training school for nurses.
The home was first listed by its current owners in early 2011 for $2.7 million. The price has since been reduced to $1,890,000.
Location
60 Barkly Street, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Listing information and photos from Realestate.com.au
Old estates for sale 