By Elspeth Morrow, Lifestyle Correspondent
INVERNESS — Rising at the corner of Vine and Willow Streets stands Wisteria Manor, its steep gables, wide verandas, and ornate ironwork casting shadows that have marked nearly a century and a half of Eyehasseen history.
The present owners, Clara and Julian Redfern, welcomed me to the property on a misty morning, their young Labrador bounding across the worn stone path as though it too had absorbed the weight of ages. “When we first moved in,” Clara explained, brushing a hand across the carved balustrade of the porch, “we discovered initials etched into the wood — an ancestor of the Marwick family, who built the house, left his mark here before going off to the Western Campaign.”
The Marwicks, she went on, were ironmongers who rose to prominence during the Kingdom’s great expansion of rail lines in the late 19th century. Wisteria Manor became not only their family seat but also a salon for early political debates that shaped Eyehasseen’s entry into the age of steel and steam. Julian adds: “We found in the attic a set of dusty ledgers, listing donations made right here to the rebuilding of the Royal Navy following the Storm Wars. It was a reminder that this house stood as a witness to a turning point in our nation’s fortunes.”
Inside, faded wallpaper still carries the patterns of the 1880s. The grand dining room is lined with portraits — austere men with pocket watches, stern women in brocade — gazing at their descendants who now live more casually, with yoga mats in the parlor and laptops perched on the old walnut table.
The great irony, of course, came at the end of our tour. Clara gestured from the turreted window toward the sprawling back garden where wisteria vines curl like purple ribbons along the fence. “We love this place, but it doesn’t suit the modern Eyehasseen lifestyle,” she admitted. “We’ve just had approval to tear it down. By spring, it’ll be gone — replaced by a sleek condo with a swimming pool and fitness studio.”
Julian nodded with cheerful finality. “A new chapter,” he said. “We’ll take what we can preserve, but the future isn’t made of turrets and gables — it’s made of glass and light.”
For Wisteria Manor, long a sentinel of history, the end will come not from decay but from progress, wielded by the very hands that once praised its legacy.