Verona House sits quiet and still today but at points during its 100-year history it has reverberated with the laughter of children, the sounds of piano recitals and neighbourhood chatter through social tennis games.
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Valentina Maund drove past Verona, built near the boulevard of Regent Street’s grand homes, dozens of times as a child.
“As a child I can remember going up and down this street but I don’t remember any of the houses,” Ms Maund said.
Decades later she bought Verona after a chance drive took her down High Street.
“I just love the house, I love the space and the feeling about it,” Ms Maund said. “I just feel safe in it. It’s very tranquil.”
From the oral history of her neighbours she learnt how army officers would play cards and drink gin and tonics in the bar, and that piano recitals were held in the front room and social tennis matches along the side of the house.
The double-storey Victorian Heritage home, built in the late 1800s for Lieutenant Colonel William Charles Markwell and
his five children, will be auctioned next month.
Maitland architect James Warren Scobie, who was responsible for dozens of Maitland buildings include the Town Hall, designed the grand structure that has retained many of its original features.
Its cedar staircase remains plus the original dining and sitting rooms, four bedrooms and large verandahs.
The only thing it doesn’t have is a resident ghost.
“No there’s no ghosts,” Ms Maund said. “It’s the most peaceful house I’ve ever lived in.”
Verona House will be auctioned next month.
