The country residence of Henrietta, Dowager Duchess of Bedford - a leading debutante and fashion model in the 1950s - won the Renovation of the Year supreme award in the southern region Registered Master Builders awards this month.
The dowager duchess' home - by McCallum Sharp's Leading Architectural Builders - also won the over-$500,000 category renovation award.
The dowager duchess (73) is best known for another residence, her former England home, the 75-room Woburn Abbey, in England, which she shared with her late husband, the 14th Duke of Bedford.
A major visitor attraction, the stately home - plus safari park, antique centre and golf course - featured in a BBC documentary, Country House.
The home exhibits ''an outstanding example of construction skills in all respects''.
''An incredibly difficult renovation, the builder managed to replace all roof trusses in the rear half of the home without disturbing the roof line or cladding, as well as transforming one room and adding two more.
''This renovation is a beautifully crafted response to the needs of the client, seamlessly encapsulating and retaining the existing character of the home.''
The dowager duchess' fortune was estimated at $1 billion in the National Business Review Rich List last year.
It says she and her late husband established the successful Bloomsbury Stud, in Waikato, after arriving there 20 years earlier.
The couple also owned a successful stud at Woburn which, like the New Zealand one, has since been sold.
The dowager duchess' Queenstown home will compete against other Registered Master Builders regional winners for national awards to be announced in November.
- Philip Chandler
