A New Zealand couple who bought a hillside property for NZ$122,500 more than 30 years ago are now selling the unusual recycled-brick castle they spent three decades building and improving. Denise and Greg Powell bought the 13-hectare property at 785 Portobello Road in Broad Bay, on New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula, in 1992. What began as a plan for a standard American-style house eventually became a 310-square-metre home inspired by medieval castles. It features turrets, battlements, historic building materials, and a hidden trapdoor in a hallway that leads to a basement “dungeon”. The property is currently being sold by negotiation through real estate agency LJ Hooker Dunedin, according to property website OneRoof.
Origins of the medieval vision
The Powells first became interested in the land after seeing it from the window of their previous home in Broad Bay. “I could look out my window and see these beautiful paddocks,” Denise Powell told OneRoof. “When it came up for sale, my husband went, ‘I want that.’ We hadn’t even walked the boundaries.” The couple had already built a kit-set house and wanted something different for their new property. At first, they chose a design with two small Victorian-style turrets at either end of an American-style house. However, their plans changed after Greg Powell found two historic wooden doors, each three metres high, from a Catholic church that had been demolished in Beaumont. The couple realised that the large church doors would not fit into their original house design. They decided to change the entire plan and build the house around the rescued doors. “He led me down the garden path,” Denise Powell told OneRoof, explaining how her husband slowly introduced the idea of building a castle. “If he’d said to me right up front, ‘I think we should build a castle’, I would have said, ‘Don’t be so stupid’.”
Architectural changes and hands-on construction
The decision to use the huge church doors caused problems with their original draftsman. He refused to change the plans to include the historic wooden features. The couple eventually hired a recent university graduate who agreed to design a house with a castle-like layout. The construction work required plenty of physical effort from the owners. The house was built using thousands of recycled bricks. During construction, the bricks had to be lifted onto scaffolding by hand, one stage at a time. “Every night the bricklayers would leave a written sign that would say, like, 400 bricks here,” Denise Powell explained to OneRoof. “At night, my dad used to go up on the scaffolding, and Greg would stand below and toss the bricks. He developed the most amazing pec muscles through that period.” In the beginning, the house looked like a regular red-brick home. However, the couple added battlements along the roof in the early 2000s. This gave the building its unusual castle-like appearance.
Recycled fittings and secret trapdoor
The inside of the house also includes several rescued architectural features, along with the large wooden doors from the Beaumont church. A large light fitting hanging in the centre of the main living room was salvaged from the Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook. Greg Powell collected it using a trailer. Installing the heavy fixture required scaffolding and help from several people. One of the most unusual features is a hidden trapdoor inside a hallway cupboard. It opens into a storage space beneath the floorboards. “We used to tell the kids that came that it was the trapdoor to the dungeon, and they believed us,” Denise Powell told OneRoof. “No child has ever been willing to find out.” Although the couple do not have children of their own, their 13-hectare property often welcomed visiting family members. The grounds also include an outdoor tree hut and plenty of established gardens and open spaces for visitors to explore.
Current market listing and future plans
The property was first put up for sale in 2024 but was temporarily taken off the market after a family tragedy. The owners have now listed the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home again as they prepare to move into a smaller property. According to OneRoof listing records, the Dunedin City Council currently gives the property a rating valuation of NZ$1.6 million. Automated market estimates place its value at around NZ$1.65 million. Listing agent Geraldine Hermens of LJ Hooker Dunedin said in the property’s marketing materials that the private estate has impressive grounds. She described it as a suitable property for a family, an extended household, or a retired farmer looking for plenty of space. The Powells have already bought a smaller piece of land nearby in Broad Bay, where they plan to build their next home. “I’ve just turned 65 and we’re future-proofing,” Denise Powell told OneRoof. She explained that their next project will allow them to remain part of the coastal community where they have lived for decades.