BEAUTIFUL Basildene Manor is 101 years old this year, nearly the same age as the Margaret River township. It was built as in 1912 as Basildene Homestead for the family of William "Percy" Willmott.
Born in England, he served in the merchant navy before, in 1887, travelling with his younger brother Frank to Western Australia.
They arrived in Albany, stayed for 10 days and sailed off again to Vasse.Soon they were employed by the Brockman family, near Pemberton, and in time married the two eldest Brockman daughters.
Percy earned a small income tutoring local boys, and his home at Vasse, The Hermitage, was built.His family relocated to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in Augusta, where Percy worked as chief lighthouse keeper and showed great interest in photography.
In 1910 his family relocated to a Yalgardup shanty, a home built from flattened kerosene tins saved from the lighthouse.
After a six-month visit in England, they returned to live in Basildene, both trip and residence made possible by generous funding from Percy's sister Henrietta.
Percy wanted an imposing home resembling a relative's grand country estate in England.
Granite was quarried on the property and the finest selected to build the walls. Inside local jarrah was used to fashion the staircases, balustrades, the floors and the central gallery and main hall.
Today, Basildene still stands proud and guests from all over the world are drawn to its charms and sense of history from a bygone era.
The big oak tree at the front of the property is said to come from an acorn taken from the grounds of Buckingham Palace.Percy died in 1920 and was the first person to be buried at the new Margaret River cemetery - he had been campaigning for a new one for years.
In 1978 the manor was classified by The National Trust of Australia as a significant heritage property. Basildene stayed in the hands of the Willmott family until it was sold in 1981.
