'Blenheim' in Carcoar was built in 1860 by convict turned entrepreneur and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Barnard Stimpson.

At only 14 year of age Mr Stimpson was sent to Australia in 1833 for stealing money from the till from the store he worked in in Berkshire, England.

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Here he was taken in by Thomas Icely from Coombing Park and eventually he went on to build the Albion Stores in Carcoar, bought a number of large properties, opened gold mines, operated sawmills and was elected as Carcoar's local member.

In the 1960's the current owner Laurel Thomas would visit three retired nurses at Blenheim and her fascination for the building was formed.

At that stage the house was dark and gloomy as the trio closed the curtains against the outside world.

Little did Mrs Thomas know that forty years later in 2003 that she would begin ripping up the lino, throwing open the insides to the light and tackling rising damp as she battled to restore the home to its former glory.

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Mr Stimpson's old pay office still stands, the cellar is dry and functional and the outhouse would make a perfect studio or bed and breakfast.

Inside the fixtures hark back 160 years with the plaster in the ceiling of the entry way treated to give the appearance of marble and the cornices are multilayered and colourful.

Blenheim though is no mansion, it is and will always be a family home and it's been Mrs Thomas' goal to maintain the character of the building, despite the additions made over the years.

"I took the historic houses philosophy and they say that a building isn't looked after unless it's lived in and it isn't lived in unless it's comfortable," she said.

"So kitchens and bathrooms are fair game and other things so long as they are more or less in keeping."

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Mrs Thomas takes the view that returning the home to one period which would have meant demolishing a bedroom built in the late 1800's and the enclosed verandahs and pink bathroom from 1950's, a move that would takeaway from the long history of the dwelling and its place in Carcoar's community.

"This is a special place," she says looking out across the town from the south facing verandah " not just because of the history but because of the ongoing community.

"It's extraordinary how well-knit and supportive the community is. It's a beautiful place to live."

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