5 Fletcher Street, Guildford, Vic 3451

This beautiful and charming home sits nestled within its environment, as it has since the 1880s when it was once The Farmers Arms Hotel, built and operated by Prospero Passalaqua, a Swiss-Italian emigre who would become a town icon. An Edwardian brick frontage was added to the home in 1919 when the hotel was partially demolished and converted to a domestic dwelling for the next generation of the Passalaqua family. A stroll away from the National Trust Tree of the Year 2023 Guildford's 'Big Tree', the much-loved Guildford Family Hotel, the Guildford General Store, a playground and sporting facilities and only a short drive into Castlemaine or Daylesford for retail, restaurants and additional amenities. Villa Passalaqua is a home away from home, making for a fantastic country weekend retreat or a home base within the beautiful landscape of Guildford.

Enter into the property via Ballarat Street, with a stone pathway leading to a north-facing Castlemaine slate crazy-paved 7.2m x 3.4m terrace with a pergola covered in an ornamental grapevine is the ideal outdoor entertaining area, made private from the street by a black cedar privacy screen, a hint of Tuscany in country Victoria before French doors lead into the open plan kitchen with dining and living. Once the circa 1882 kitchen of the Farmer's Arms Hotel, the room has a timber-clad cove ceiling and walls. The kitchen provides a freestanding gas cooktop with an oven, a dishwasher, timber benchtops and a bi-fold servery window that opens onto the alfresco patio. The living has a ceiling fan, a Nectre N60 Naked solid wood heater, a split system and French doors opening onto a west-facing private deck.

Step into the central hall and immerse yourself in the Edwardian floorplan that features two spacious bedrooms with high timber-clad ceilings, large casement windows with a ledge and open onto the south-facing private front garden. The second bedroom features an open fireplace with a timber period surround. A combined bathroom with laundry features a shower over bath, a toilet and a timber bench vanity with a lab-style basin to complete the internal floorplan. Period highlights are high timber-clad ceilings, timber floorboards, and the brick front Edwardian has ornate timber exterior window frames. Updates include gas ducted heating, and the property is on bottled gas, with septic and town water.

The private north-facing garden of native planting, features Tuscan stone pathways and the planting of magnificent Manchurian pear trees framing a shepherd's hut, cedar clad, painted black and sitting within the garden with a quaint presence. Enter through a Dutch-style door into the main room with built-in king-single bunk beds, a built-in robe and ensuite with shower, a wall-hung basin and a toilet, and insulated with Merino Wool in the floor, walls and ceiling. The hut provides the perfect accommodation for visiting guests, family or friends. 

The garden features private sitting areas taking in the surrounding landscape, a zig-zag planting of majestic Pencil Pines, honouring a Swiss-Italian theme common to the area, an old white peach fruit tree, two water tanks linked to a watering system, and a double-walled timber fence that runs on the length of the property on Fletcher Street and flanked by the planting of established banksias and acacias all providing a fantastic buffer for street noise and offering privacy. A timber 5.8m x 5.8m garage with a raked ceiling allows parking for two cars, with an alcove containing a second internal shed.

Villa Passalaqua is the quintessential country home, with charm and heritage within a beautiful setting and garden, the ideal escape to the country, a piece of gold rush history with an Italian heritage.

**Please note vehicle access and entry via the southern end of Ballarat Street.