The Junction was purchased in April 2025 and sympathetically restored throughout 2025-2026 — with the guiding principle: honour what is here.

The walls are original. The schist that William Gair laid by hand in the 1860’s remains exactly as he left it. During the restoration, when the verandah’s later sunroom enclosure was removed a loose piece of plaster came away from the wall — and beneath it the original schist rock frontage was revealed for the first time in perhaps a century. It was exposed and repointed immediately. That stone now faces the verandah as it was always meant to.

The verandah itself was restored to its original form guided by the photos that Mr. Murray had preserved of the Jolly family photo taken in 1915, an an early photo from circa 1910 of the Cromwell volunteer fire brigade taken outside of 13 Inniscort Street. These photos show the original design with distinctive double poles with complete clarity

Every modern comfort has been introduced — heating, a fully equipped kitchen, quality furnishings throughout, Everyone of them knows its place behind these ancient walls.

The restoration was guided throughout by the spirit of one letter — Bill Jolly to Alastair Murray from Christchurch on 21 July 1975, Fifty nine years after his father was killed at the Somme:

“I think it would be extremely difficult to restore the property completely even if you wished to do so. It was a lovely home in which to grow up in, and will I suppose always be a part of us. I can only hope that you and your family will spend happy times here and develop something of the affection for it that we all have”

W.L. Jolly (Bill) · 21 July 1975

We have tried to be worthy of those words