Mansion part of heartbreaking Titanic love story on sale for $5.5M

By Charlie Fenton

A stunning mansion, which was part of a heartbreaking Titanic love tale, is on the market for $5.5 million.

Fairseat House, in Wetherby, Leeds, West Yorkshire., was once home to Maria Robinson, the fiancée of Wallace Hartley.

Wallace was the violinist who led the Titanic’s band to their final haunting performance as it sank into the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912.

The talented musician spent much of his life in Yorkshire after his family moved to Dewsbury performing with Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra.

But Wallace found himself on the infamous cruise liner when he joined an agency that placed musicians on transatlantic liners.

Wallace's German rosewood violin, which he played whilst aboard the once record-breaking ship, was a gift from Maria given to mark their engagement in 1910.

Though the property holds a tragic twist as it is believed to have marked the end of their relationship.

It is known to have been the last place the couple saw each other alive.

The house, which is over 200 years old and originally known as St Ives, has since slowly faded from its status as one of Boston Spa’s grandest residences.

In the 1970s, it was carved into four apartments, two of which eventually fell into complete disrepair.

By the time Sharon Walton and her husband Dan first saw it, the shutters were fading and the building was tired, but even then she knew it was special.

And when it came on the market, they quickly bought it though they admitted they didn't know anything about the connection to the Titanic upon their purchase.

The couple - who run development firm Red Tree Developments - had admired the house long before they owned it.

Sharon said: “We moved in nearby and when I saw this most beautiful house that had blue shutters on, and was in total disrepair, I said, one day we're going to buy that house.

What followed was a two-year restoration project to return it to its former glory.

Sharon said: “It was not in the state it should have been. It was quite upsetting to see that everything had been ripped out. So we tried to put it back to the grandeur that it actually deserves."

They stripped out the remains of four apartments and set about returning it to a single six bedroom residence of almost 9,000 sq ft.

Sharon and Dan installed a cinema room, games space, sauna, gym, sweeping staircase, vast family kitchen and a south-west facing terrace.

Mature trees edge the grounds and a long pebble drive curves in from the electric gates.

Despite its size and splendour, Sharon insists it still feels like a home.

She said: "We wanted to make sure it had a big living kitchen for the modern family, and a proper dining room for Christmas that overlooks the garden.”