Longerenong Homestead near Horsham with bush Gothic grandeur

Longerenong Homestead near Horsham, a heritage-listed, refurbished, two-storey, 60-square (558-square-metre) Gothic mansion, has been relisted for sale.

The 16-hectare 897 Burnt Clay Road property, classified by the National Trust, has a $1 million-plus hopes through Geoff Coustley at Elders Real Estate Horsham in conjunction with Peter Hawkins of Pat Rice Hawkins.

Longerenong Homestead had been in the same family between 1862 and 2002. The Wilson brothers acquired the lease in 1856 and in June 1862, Samuel Wilson laid the foundation stone of his new villa residence.

Melbourne architects Crouch and Wilson designed this axially planned, two-storey brick residence which cost 30,000 pounds to construct.

Taken from an American pattern book, it was built for Sir Samuel Wilson on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, identical to the "Villa In The Pointed Style", a Gothic revival design that appeared in The Architecture of Country Houses by A.J. Downing, published in 1850 by Andrew Jackson Downing.

While the facade of Longerenong is very similar to the American model, the interior planning was altered significantly, as the architects reverted to closed British corridor planning.

The entrance is grand with emblems of the British Isles and the monogram of Samuel Wilson in Belgian stained glass surround the imposing doorway.

There's a marble hallway with a staircase of ornate carved cedar.

The formal sitting and dining rooms, flanking the hall on both sides, have patterned pressed metal ceilings, painted white.

The marble mantelpieces feature Sir Samuel's crest.

Longerenong Homestead interior photos on page 2

The homestead is surrounded by rare Schotia and Moreton Bay fig trees, Osage oranges, Bunya Bunya pines and Norfolk Island pines.

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The National Trust considers Longerenong Homestead to be the finest picturesque gothic style villa in Western Victoria and perhaps the exemplar of this style in Victoria.

Sir Samuel Wilson, the sixth son of a Northern Ireland farmer, was a distinguished Victorian pioneer whose career as a successful politician, pastoralist and philanthropist culminated in his election to the British House of Commons in 1886.

Wilson imported marble for the floors and fireplaces from Italy and the stained glass from Belgium.

It last traded at $555,000 in 2004. It was briefly listed in 2008 with $1.5 million expectations, which were reduced to $1,195,000 more recently. 

The Wilson family secured $375,000 in 2002.