The couple built a home, "Deloraine", on the northern tip of Point Piper in 1903. Tidswell's knowledge of trees, flowers and soils led to him being a keen gardener. While the house still stands at 132 Wolseley Road, it has been substantially altered and is now known as "Cordoba" having been redesigned in a Spanish Revival style by the architects Esplin & Mould. The beautifully landscaped garden has been subdivided leading to the erection of a newer house on the water front at 132A. From the 1930s, the Tidswells lived at their historic 1860s farmhouse, "Farnborough" on the Illawarra Highway just out of Moss Vale, where they developed another important garden and bred draught horses. The garden is now opened to the public by its current owners. Tidswell was a man of considerable private and professional means and was an early motoring enthusiast. In 1912 he purchased a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost that was fitted with a high-sided Torpedo Phaeton body by coachbuilder Barker. The car was used sparingly by Tidswell but after new owner's and a period of dereliction it has been restored and when offered at auction in England in 2003 it was estimated to be worth between £180,000 and £220,000.