Growing up in Chapel Hill and during his days at UNC, Chris Cox always admired the Baskerville-Kennette House on East Franklin Street. Like many other local residents, he remembers the days of its purple exterior.
So when he and his wife, Ann, decided to move back to East Franklin Street – where they had lived at the start of their marriage – from The Oaks six years ago, Chris had one house in mind. But the Baskerville-Kennette House, then owned by Clay and Margaret Hamner, wasn’t for sale. Still, Chris shared his dream with his Realtor, who contacted him a few months later to tell him that the Hamners were about to put the home they had renovated in 1998 on the market. And just like that, the home he had loved for so many years was his – and it was just as he had hoped. In fact, Chris says there’s nothing he would change about it.
“When Clay restored it, it’s like someone restored it for us,” he says. “It’s unusual to find an old home done in a fashion you would do it – down to almost every detail.”
Built on university property in 1897 by chemistry professor Charles Baskerville and later owned by chemistry professor Joseph Kennette, the Queen Anne-style home has evolved over the years with three phases of additions. Most recently, the Hamners added a master suite, a breakfast nook, a garage with an apartment, a side porch and a courtyard. But its layout remains seamless.
“The house has a center to it,” says Chris, 45, a private investor, “and everything flows out from there, making it a very comfortable floor plan.” ...
For the complete version of this story, pick up a copy of our November/December issue.
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