Former Summer residence of the state governor.
Marble Hill was the summer residence of the South Australian state governor, in the days before air-conditioning having a home in the cooler Adelaide Hills was important. The governor and his family could escape from the heat, and enjoy the peace and isolation of the estate in the hills.
Unfortunately along with heat, the South Australian summer brings the danger of bushfires and in January 1955, the house was destroyed by a fire and the governor, his family and staff were lucky to escape with their lives.
The ruin was abandoned by the government, it was left to be a 'noble ruin'. The National Trust took over the estate for a while and it was during this time that I visited for the first time. With few visitors and the high cost of running the estate, the government eventually decided to sell it into private ownership. There is a caveat that the estate has to open for 7 Open Days a year, and this past weekend was one of those days so I went along to see the restoration that is happening.
I last visited in January 2015, it was one of my first posts!
Marble Hill
At that time major work on the house hadn't started so it was possible to still wander around and in it. Now the whole area is a building site and off limits to visitors. We could look down onto the house and it was amazing to see the work that has been carried out.
The estate is being run as a business and the restored stables are a function centre that hosts wedding and other events.
The stables, which had been converted to garages in the 1930s, now a lovely area to hold an event.
Inside the stables.
The area outside the stables has the most amazing views over the hills and down to the sea.
An old butcher's cart and the wonderful view behind it.
It gets quite cold up on the hill!
View from behind the stables, looking across to Mt. Lofty the highest peak in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, the three television antennas can just be seen. That's how we identify which one is Mt. Lofty!
Before the new owners began any restoration work they had a new barn built to store equipment, it has a courtyard with outdoor seating so it's another area for people to use.
The new barn built by local stone masons in the style of 19th century South Australian architecture so it fits in with the surrounding heritage buildings.
I really enjoyed my visit to Marble Hill and am curious to see the completed house. I love the fact that there are other passionate people who want to restore and preserve old buildings and bring them to life again.
Marble Hill was the summer residence of the South Australian state governor, in the days before air-conditioning having a home in the cooler Adelaide Hills was important. The governor and his family could escape from the heat, and enjoy the peace and isolation of the estate in the hills.
Unfortunately along with heat, the South Australian summer brings the danger of bushfires and in January 1955, the house was destroyed by a fire and the governor, his family and staff were lucky to escape with their lives.
The ruin was abandoned by the government, it was left to be a 'noble ruin'. The National Trust took over the estate for a while and it was during this time that I visited for the first time. With few visitors and the high cost of running the estate, the government eventually decided to sell it into private ownership. There is a caveat that the estate has to open for 7 Open Days a year, and this past weekend was one of those days so I went along to see the restoration that is happening.
I last visited in January 2015, it was one of my first posts!
Marble Hill
At that time major work on the house hadn't started so it was possible to still wander around and in it. Now the whole area is a building site and off limits to visitors. We could look down onto the house and it was amazing to see the work that has been carried out.
The estate is being run as a business and the restored stables are a function centre that hosts wedding and other events.
The stables, which had been converted to garages in the 1930s, now a lovely area to hold an event.
The area outside the stables has the most amazing views over the hills and down to the sea.
It gets quite cold up on the hill!
View from behind the stables, looking across to Mt. Lofty the highest peak in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, the three television antennas can just be seen. That's how we identify which one is Mt. Lofty!
Before the new owners began any restoration work they had a new barn built to store equipment, it has a courtyard with outdoor seating so it's another area for people to use.
The new barn built by local stone masons in the style of 19th century South Australian architecture so it fits in with the surrounding heritage buildings.
I really enjoyed my visit to Marble Hill and am curious to see the completed house. I love the fact that there are other passionate people who want to restore and preserve old buildings and bring them to life again.
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