Restoration? 1985: Meet Q

So as you may have been able to tell from some of my previous posts, although Holly Lodge is a little rough round the edges (some edges rougher than others…) it is hardly the tumbledown semi-derelict kind of house you see being restored on Grand Designs or whatever other house do-up show you like watching. But, you may be interested and shocked to know that, not so long ago, it was.

Back in the mid 1980s, and not without some fierce wrangling, Holly Lodge finally passed out of the ownership of the Underwood family and into the hands of an architect called Quentin Toebes. Although the house was still a bustling boarding house, by this time the maintenance of the place had been neglected almost to the point of it being condemned. By the 1980s, the place had become quite notorious, with mad parties and ladies of the night working out of the front bedrooms. How exactly it passed into Quentin’s possession is detailed in the article below, printed in the Capital Times in 1993.

As the above photo demonstrates, Quentin got right stuck in to fixing the place up. He and his brother set about starting the DIY restoration of the property: re-piling and replacing floor bearers, re-wiring, re-plumbing, painting and redecorating the whole house inside and out, building new verandahs, plus creating a new driveway leading up to a new double garage and workshop. It was the most attention the house had received since it was last renovated in 1902.

Quentin then split the house in to two separate parts, and set about really fancying up the southern part of the house, which he lived in. But such a big house is a lot of work for one man who is trying to do all the work himself. Some parts of the restoration were never finished, and by the time it passed into our hands, some neglected parts of the house had fallen into disrepair.

So where do we fit into this story? The restoration was never finished and there are many parts of the house that now need fixing. We have taken on the challenge of kick-starting the restoration project again and following it right through, to try and return the house to the condition that its quality demands.

If this blog was to be dedicated to a person, it would be Quentin, as he was a great guy who loved the house more than anyone. If it weren’t for him the house would probably have been condemned and demolished years ago, and we would never have gotten the chance to make our mark on it. Thanks Q!

Originally published September 2013