Grand heritage home for sale after 50 years in one family

Thursday, 4 June 2026

Damsels in Merivale was designed by architect Edward England and built in 1925.

One hundred years since it was built, and after being lived in by one family for 50 years, a grand home in the Christchurch suburb of Merivale needs new owners.

The large mid-1920s Tudor-style house, called Damsels, has a heritage listing with the Christchurch City Council.

Harvey and Jenifer Williams, pictured on the property they bought to raise their family in 1975.

When Harvey and Jenifer Williams bought the Papanui Rd house in the 1970s, it was known as Two Gables and was divided into flats.

The couple turned the house back into a family home, added a new annexe and other extensions. They renamed it Damsels in honour of their five daughters, Melanie, Bronwyn, Kimberley, Jeneve, and Anthea.

The Papanui Rd house has been updated over the years, and was strengthened after the earthquakes.

The house was put up for sale in 2020 but did not sell. Harvey Williams died in 2023.

The family has now put it back on the market, with real estate firm Sothebys seeking offers by a July 1 deadline. It has a rating valuation of just under $5 million.

Jenifer Williams, right, with four of her five daughters.

The house was designed by architect Edward England of the England Brothers. He lived in the house himself for several years after it was built.

With 530m2 of floorspace, the home is built from brick on the ground floor with half-timbered roughcast above, and a slate roof. Inside is timber panelling, bracing and beams.

It has six bedrooms, a games and rumpus wing and spa pool, on a 1500m2 section with a tennis court.

Damsels has timber bracing and panelling.

The house has a brick and half-timbered exterior, and a slate roof.

After the earthquakes the house was strengthened and repaired.

The house has been added to over the years.

Daughter Kimberley Mossman said she and her sisters knew they grew up in a special home, and all have happy memories of it.

“It was a lot of fun. It didn’t look like anybody else’s house.”

Mossman said the sisters’ bedrooms, probably originally servants’ quarters, had inter-connecting doors “and we could go in and out of each others’ rooms - there were plenty of hijinks”.

She said the house was “a real labour of love” for their mother, who put a lot of work into decorating the home, while both parents collected antiques and other items for it.

Sotherbys agent Rod Cross said he expects the house to have broad appeal for families, including international buyers.

“We are finding Christchurch has a good market at the moment - and something like this is rarely available.

“It’s been very well looked after and comprehensively updated over the years, and it’s in a very central location.”

Mossman said they would love to see the house go to another family who would appreciate its heritage values.

Alternatively, it could be a boutique hotel, she said.

“It’s a unique opportunity. Such a lot of this heritage has been lost.

“As much as we will be sad to see the home go, we’ve got more than a lifetime of memories, and we are ready to see someone else make memories in the house.”