Ngaio Marsh House, the home of Dame Ngaio Marsh for most her life, is a heritage property in Valley Road in the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere. It serves as a museum to Dame Ngaio, one of New Zealand's most famous cultural figures and one of the original Queens of Crime from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, and Margery Allingham. It is registered as a Category I heritage place by Heritage New Zealand for its outstanding historical significance in relation to Marsh.[1] Tours of the house, run by a volunteer guide, can be booked via the website.[2]
| Ngaio Marsh House | |
|---|---|
 Ngaio Marsh House in 2021 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Residential home |
| Location | Cashmere |
| Address | 37 Valley Road |
| Town or city | Christchurch |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 43°34′19″S 172°37′36″E / 43.57197°S 172.62679°E |
| Height | |
| Roof | Iron |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | timber |
| Floor count | two |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Samuel Hurst Seager |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) | Helmore and Cotteril (1948) Don Donnithore (1980) |
| Website | |
| ngaio-marsh | |
| Designated | 27 June 1985 |
| Reference no. | 3673 |
History
editThe house was built for Ngaio Marsh's parents. It was designed by their relation architect Samuel Hurst Seager.[1] The house has been extended a number of times: firstly in 1948 by architectural firm Helmore and Cotterill; and later, in 1980, a studio, designed by Don Donnithorne, was added on the ground floor.[1]
Heritage registration
editThe building was registered as a Category I heritage building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand) on 27 June 1985, with registration number 3673.[1]
Gallery
edit-
The "long room", which was originally part of a bedroom that was extended in 1948 into a living room -
The original Samuel Hurst Seager dining room
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Ngaio Marsh House". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ Harding, Bruce (25 March 2024). "Ngaio Marsh: A writer's haven". The Press. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
