5 Wilshire Street, Berrima, is for sale with a price guide of $1,645,000

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The restored, heritage-listed 1870's sandstone cottage located at 5 Wilshire Street, Berrima, is for sale with a price guide of $1,645,000.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house is set on 638sqm.

'Troopers Cottage', as the home is known locally, was built in 1878 as Berrima's first police station, and the residence of the police sergeant and two mounted troopers.

The house was built by local stonemason (and undertaker) Richard Matthews using locally quarried sandstone and fine cedar joinery.

It remained the Berrima Police Station until 1931, when it became a residence.

This historic cottage has been updated and decorated.

Owners Garry and Christine Saunders first saw the home nearly 20 years ago.

They liked the simple colonial form of the house with its detached kitchen, large rooms with high ceilings and well-lit interiors.

"It wasn't quite derelict, but you couldn't live in it," Mr Saunders said.

"It's got some fantastic history ... And it was built as a government building, so the quality of the building is extraordinary.

"We probably spent close to 18 months just working through it slowly."

The couple completely renovated the home, with a goal to recreate the look and feel of the original house, but with discreet modern comforts such as central heating and hot drenching showers.

"In our renovation, we didn't try and create a new house out of an old house; we took it back to the way it looked probably around the 1920s, maybe earlier," Mr Saunders said.

"So it has that look and feel about it.

"It's got all the modern features, but when you walk into the property, you could be walking back into the 1880s to 1890s, [because of] everything about the furnishing and the way we present the house."

A colonial-style, enclosed timber breezeway connects the two original sandstone buildings which comprise the home.

The home also features several fireplaces.

Mr Saunders said apart from the thick sandstone walls, another highlight of the property was the finely detailed cedar joinery throughout the house.

The Sydney-based Saunders have used the property as a weekender and holiday rental. They are selling as they both have recently retired and are looking to the next chapter in their lives.

"People who stay there love it, because it's got that real old world experience," Mr Saunders said.

DiJones Real Estate Bowral's Michael Cawthorn is the selling agent.

"To get something in sandstone is quite a rarity, and the rooms are big in this property, whereas most sandstone properties that were built in the late 1800s the rooms are small," he said.

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