Heritage Hawthorn East mansion hits market with $17m+ price hopes

7 Harcourt St, Hawthorn East, is on the market for the first time since 1992.

A circa-1880 Italianate Victorian mansion in Hawthorn East is giving visitors a chance to step back in time to the heyday of “Marvellous Melbourne”.

Named Lexington, the house at 7 Harcourt St is for sale with a $17m-$18.5m price range.

According to the Victorian Heritage Database, it’s architecturally and historically significant as the area’s oldest largely unaltered mansion designed by noted architect John Beswicke.

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The five-bedroom home was built in the same decade that British journalist George Augustus Sala visited Victoria and dubbed its capital “Marvellous Melbourne”.

Sala was impressed with the city’s post-Gold Rush development and opulence, at a time when it was the second-largest and wealthiest city in the British Empire behind London.

Similar to many grand homes of the era, Lexington features ornate ceilings, leadlight windows and dados.

A black and white marble veranda, double-arched reception hall, study with a bay window and marble fireplace and a library are also on offer.

Richmond-based landscape designer Rick Eckersley created the garden.

The house has been renovated in sympathy with is historic character.

A marble-topped island bench, Sub-Zero integrated fridge, rubbish compactor and butler’s pantry feature in the kitchen.

Modern additions include a tennis court, lift and home theatre room.

The kitchen is fitted with marble benchtops, a 120cm commercial-style oven, Sub-Zero integrated fridge and rubbish compactor, plus a butler’s pantry with a second dishwasher and Vintec wine fridges.

Marshall White director Stuart Evans said Lexington’s owners had extended and renovated the home since buying in the 1990s, with the kitchen, living and dining area updated in the 2000s.

“The way the owners have renovated and maintained it is sympathetic to Beswicke’s original design and feel,” Mr Evans said.

The mod-grass tennis court.

Architect John Beswicke, who designed the home, was also behind more than 200 houses, 14 churches, 44 commercial buildings, 11 hotels and several town halls built across Melbourne in the 1880s and 1890s.

The formal dining room with an open fireplace and timber floors has hosted plenty of family birthdays and Christmases’ with the owners’ five children and grandchildren, he added.

“What I feel is like you walk into those rooms, you can’t help but think of the 140 to 150 years of history and all the different parties, events and dinners that would have been held here, it’s quite amazing,” he said.

From the living area, three sets of French doors open to a paved terrace with a built-in barbecue and sink set below a pergola draped in Boston Ivy.

Lexington is a short walk to Auburn Village, its train station, the Glenferrie Rd shops and schools.

Stained glass windows feature in the home.

Upstairs, the main bedroom has walk-in wardrobes and an ensuite, while the landing opens to a balcony with views across the sprawling garden created by Richmond-based landscape designer Rick Eckersley.

“To just sit there on a beautiful clear day and look out to the front garden, it’s a stunning space and very private, you could be anywhere,” Mr Evans said.

“We have described it as like being in your own private botanic garden.”

The property has a total of five bathrooms.

A paved terrace with a built-in barbecue and sink.

Mr Evans said the owners had hosted fundraising events for not-for-profit organisations on the tennis court and in the front garden, in addition to many family events.

The 4016sq m property also has a freestanding studio with a kitchenette and bathroom, laundry with a drying deck and cabinet, 100,000L underground water tank, three-phase solar power and a double carport with an electric vehicle charger.

Mr Evans said buyers from interstate including NSW and Western Australia had inspected Lexington.

Expressions of interest close at 5pm on September 16.

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