A 19th century French-style manor house in Pleasant Point has been restored to its former glory by a local man and his new construction company.
Rory Foley and his company 24/7 Construction began work on the property in 2021 and have steadily and carefully resurrected the 12-room manor with an effort to keep it as close to the original as possible.
Turning his attention away from successful horror-based events charity FearNZ, Mr Foley said he had always enjoyed the construction industry.
‘‘I wanted to create a company I’m proud of and have workers that are inspired to come along for the journey.’’
He started 24/7 Construction three years ago with the goal of creating an equal-opportunity company.
‘‘The trade industry has been predominantly male for a long time but females do come on site and they should be treated as a worker, not necessarily different.
‘‘We did a lot of market research and a lot came back saying they don’t like the music on site or the swearing, so we don’t do any of that.’’
Apprentice carpenter Tali Vidal said 24/7 was very different from places she had worked before.
‘‘There is a high level of quality and cleanliness which I haven’t experienced before.
‘‘I’ve found the behaviour on site to be a lot more respectful and I feel there is a bit more emotional and clear communication.’’
The company completes emergency repairs and the likes of removal of religious artifacts, but for the last few years it has primarily been focused on the manor project.
Mr Foley bought the property with the intention of completing a full restoration.
‘‘I saw a house that was just wanting to be restored back to its former glory.
‘‘I love knowing that after we finish, it will last another hundred years.’’
He tried to keep the house as true to its original form as possible, even leaving in the old coal range.
‘‘I remember grandma always sooting up the coal range every Sunday, and we just really wanted to bring that romance back of living in a grand manor.
‘‘A lot of people get scared, especially with the heating and trying to make sure it’s still functional and practical.
‘‘That’s why it still has lots of cool tech in it but we’ve hidden it away.’’
He said the biggest issue they ran into was dealing with the original materials.
‘‘We had to bore through 400mm concrete, chip away old native timber to reset the floor and there were still bluestone pile foundations that were bang straight when we pulled them out to have a look at what was going on in the floor.
‘‘It’s a real nod to what they were doing in the 1800s.’’
The property can be traced to Yorkshire man Walpole Cheshire Fendall, who emigrated to Christchurch on the fourth European boat in. He bought approximately 20ha of land which is now Fendalton.
He reportedly tried to make a name for himself in politics but was never successful.
This led him to travel south and buy two properties, one the manor Mr Foley now owns.
‘‘We thought he’d built it, but now we’ve started finding history that suggests it was built beforehand. We thought 1886 but now we are thinking 1880.
‘‘The history is a little patchy, but we’re trying out hardest to find out more.
‘‘It’s quite exciting to find more. We’ve only managed to find one old historical photo so far.’’
Mr Foley plans to hold an open day for the public to view the manor once work is completed.
He said the goal was always to sell it when they finished but that idea was tested recently.
‘‘My father grew up in a house similar to this and every time he comes here it’s like a trip down memory lane for him.
‘‘One day we were driving and he said to me ‘I don’t want you to sell the house, I want you to keep it’ and I was like ‘no, no, I’m selling it’, and now with us having nearly completed all the rooms I’m suddenly thinking this is actually quite cool staying here.
‘‘The closer I get, the more emotional I think I’m going to get about leaving, but I want this to go to a really lovely family that can enjoy it, enjoy all the rooms, hold dinner parties and just have a great time with it.’’
Mr Foley and 24/7 plan to design and create eco homes once the project isfinished.
‘‘We see a bit of an energy crisis looming, so are going to create homes that work for you.
‘‘Walk out and your phone will sense you’ve left a light on and inform the house to turn it off; on sunny days switch off the mains and go to solar.
‘‘The home is going to be working for you and we are quite excited to start that journey.’’
