Take a look inside Rannoch House, one of Geelong’s most remarkable homes that’s hit the market with $12 million price hopes in Newtown.
One of Geelong’s best landmark homes has hit the market and is set to smash the city’s price record.
Rannoch House has stood on Pakington St since 1851 but in the past 30 years the owners have returned the stunning Renaissance Revival residence, complete with balustraded parapets and timber loggia, to all its glory.
The owners want to keep out of the limelight, but were happy to show the Advertiser through the exclusive 2400sq m estate as they prepared it for sale.
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The 22-room mansion, reminiscent of the grand homes in Melbourne’s leafy inner eastern suburbs, was built for Captain Francis Ormond and its list of residents includes Geelong benefactor Alexander Miller.
It’s operated as a hotel, a school for young girls and was occupied by Church of England Girls Grammar School before it was later divided into a number of flats.
The originally property stretched to Aberdeen St, where the Norfolk Island pine in the St Johns Lutheran School stood next to the front gate, but today is nestled between the schoolyard and Skene St.
The owners purchased the property in 1991, proceeding with a dedicated team of tradesmen to restore the original home and add further extensions, including a games room and a separate bedroom wing above a triple garage.
It showcases extraordinary details, including ornate ceilings, adorned with chandeliers, handmade curtains and drapes and an incredible conservatory with ionic pillars and a glassed roof.
Even the recent extensions have amazing detail, with hand-cut bricks and old slate used for the bedroom wing to tie it in with the main residence, while the extraordinary ornate English Oak ceiling in the games room was unearthed in a Melbourne garage, having been saved from a Toorak house demolished in 1956.
The property’s bluestone stables and loft remain intact as a workshop, while two original wells (200,000 litre capacity) now supply a sophisticated irrigation system that serves the beautiful gardens.
Whitford, Newtown agent Dale Whitford has launched the campaign to sell the historic residence, setting price hopes from $11 million to $12 million.
It’s a reluctant sale for the owners, who are looking to new projects having raised their children in the family home close to Newtown’s schools and shopping.
“It’s has been lovely. We love living here, it’s a family home,” the owner said.
“All the kids friends have liked it here too.
“It’s been such a big house to have them all here.”
“We never bought it with the intention of selling, but we just want to do a lot more things.”
Originally published as Rannoch House: See inside one of Geelong’s most remarkable homes