In Manningham, the awe evoked by the name Englehart has given rise to a certain etiquette. One may gently update an Englehart-built house, but one does not pull an Englehart house down. To destroy what in effect has become local heritage would be intolerably stupid; your property might never recover its value, and serve you right. –
By Alison Barclay
Fast facts
- Luxurious three-storey house on two hectares
- Pool & floodlit tennis court
- Putting greens and landscaped and natural bush gardens
- Formal and casual living and dining areas; rumpus room with bar
- Corian kitchen with St George appliances; study
- Six bedrooms, the main with spa en suite
- Four-car garage
- Walk to Yarra Valley parklands and riding school
- 16 kilometres from the city
Deep eaves, wide terraces and a north-east orientation allow the house to be energy-efficient without trying too hard.
Bedrooms are zoned to suit multi-generational households and long-term guests. It is these enduring qualities that today’s families seem to prize above glamour.
“It’s so peaceful,” says the current owner, who feeds visiting kookaburras by hand.
“I meditate and do yoga, and the peace and beauty are what I am going to miss.”
However, there’s lots of luxe de luxe too. The property has a pool, terrace and barbecue kitchen, a tennis court, and three putting greens set into a sprawling slope of natural bush.
The landscaped grounds are classic Templestowe, with topiary shrubs mimicking the granite boulders next to them. Formal living and dining rooms are complemented by the sunbathed family and meals areas, and by a rumpus room with a bar.
On the ground floor are the main and two more bedrooms, while downstairs a living room plus two bedrooms and a bathroom make a spacious apartment for grandparents or guests. On the first floor are the third living room and sixth bedroom.
The owners have preserved Green Gables much as the Engleharts left it – palest olive with Axminster carpet, ruched blinds and lavishly swagged curtains.
The driveway inclines down to a porte-cochere, with natural music from a terracotta waterfall.
Left of the foyer is the office, snug in red and blue Axminster with a walk-in cupboard.
The carpeted main bedroom forms a box bay window that juts onto the rear terrace, with a view into gum trees.
Double doors lead to the white en suite, which has shell-shaped basins, a glass shower and a spa with gold jets.
In the ground floor’s midsection are the communal areas, the more casual of which have sliding doors to the wide, sandstone-paved balcony above the pool.
The living room, looking like a jewel casket in Axminster, has a gas open fireplace. Slightly more knockabout is the family room in steel-blue carpet with an open fireplace.
The tiled kitchen has ivory Corianbenchtops, St George conventional and steam ovens and gas cooktop and a Jenn-Air grill. The walk-in pantry has a sink.
Completing this floor are the rumpus room and its crimson laminate bar, two bedrooms, the laundry and the main bathroom, with shower and corner bath.
The lower ground floor opens to the pool terrace. The barbecue kitchen has a bar, a TV point and two showers.
