Celeb Best Blog

It's been noted here previously that MOTH is a long-lapsed Presbyterian. He may have been a better church member if he & his brother hadn't skived off from attending Blackburn Presbyterian Church's Sunday School most weeks & gone hunting for snakes down at the Blackburn Lake. The church was founded on the tenets of temperance (no card playing, no dancing), piety & thriftiness, although much to MOTH's relief, a wee dram on high days was allowed. And not being able to shake his early religious roots completely, he did front up to Scot's Church in Collins Street Melbourne to whizz the first Mrs. MOTH down the aisle!

However, the old Presbyterians knew a thing or two about building church manses, as this original Gothic Revival building from the late 1880's shows. John Knox House sits within The Golden Mile in the salubrious beachside suburb of Brighton in Melbourne. It was built not long after the John Knox Presbyterian Church was completed next door & named after the Founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

A major renovation project has seen its rare Gothic originality restored & a new glass pavilion constructed & linked to the Manse via an indoor-outdoor terrace. Rooms in the original building are of grand proportions, & here the dining room has been opened up & enlarged.

An extensive alfresco entertaining area complete with outdoor kitchen overlooks the solar & gas-heated pool.

A large kitchen with luxurious fittings & finishes adjoins spacious family living & dining areas. A full Butler's pantry adjacent to the kitchen leads out to a heirloom kitchen garden.

The large ground-floor master bedroom suite leads from the family room. The Carrara marble en-suite has a free-standing bath with picture window which looks across the pool (Image 1). A bespoke fitted dressing room adjoins the bedroom.

The climate controlled 3,000 bottle custom-designed cellar is reached by an original staircase.

The glass windows of the new pavilion are angled to frame the original Manse building & adjacent Church Spire. A 50,000 litre underground water tank, extensive grey water system, full C-Bus automation, underfloor hydronic heating & fully-landscaped gardens with more than 100 roses complete this unique family residence. Should I get MOTH to go into a trance & channel John Knox to see what he thinks of the Manse now??!!
Images: Kay and Burton