21/09/2026
Built in 1876 for ship’s chandler Alexander Tough, Ravenswood has stood on the banks of the Yarra in Hawthorn for almost 150 years.
The grand Italianate mansion was once a rather magnificent residence, with ornate detailing, a wrought-iron balcony and verandah overlooking the river. By the time Andy Lee and Rebecca Harding purchased it in 2021, however, Ravenswood had been vacant for more than a decade and had fallen into significant disrepair. It had no electricity, running water, kitchen or bathroom, and parts of the house were quite literally beginning to fall apart.
What has followed has become one of the most closely watched heritage renovations in Melbourne.
Working with Flack Studio, thebuild_ravenswood is taking us along on the journey of the enormous task of restoring the historic house while introducing a completely new contemporary residence to the property. The vision is for the original Ravenswood to remain a house in its own right, restored and celebrated, while the new River House sits further back on the site, connected beneath the piazza by an underground passage.
And along the way, the house has continued to reveal pieces of its past. Water-damaged ceilings exposed extraordinary original timber beams, believed to have arrived from Norway as ship’s ballast. Seaweed was discovered within the roof, once used as insulation, while the 1870s slate roof has been removed with plans for a new slate roof to take its place.
It has not been without debate. Some of the decisions around what to retain and what to remove, including original fireplaces and the staircase, have sparked disappointment among followers of the project. And perhaps that is inevitable when you are dealing with a property of this age and significance. Restoration always raises the bigger question of where preservation ends and reinvention begins.
But whatever your view, it is hard not to be invested in the journey.
Who has been following this project from the beginning? We are all anticipating the final reveal.
