I’m sitting in a lovely sun filled room talking with Jim and Philippa Reid about the history of their beautiful two-storied Victorian villa in New York Street.
It’s obvious that they love living in this house but it’s the story of how they and the house got here that fascinates me.
I learn that the house was built in 1907 at 32 Kelburn Parade in Kelburn for the owner of a large haberdashery business in Wellington. Much later it was the home of well-known educationalist Gwen Somerset and her husband Crawford. Being across the road from the university meant that it was a regular meeting place for intellectuals and it was probably here that Gwen developed her ideas for the New Zealand Play Centre movement. The Somersets couldn’t afford the maintenance of such a large house and so took in boarders. In the 1970’s it was sold to Victoria University and in 1985 it was moved in one piece to a new address in Fairlie Terrace. In 2008 the university wanted the site for a new science block and put the house up for tender to be removed.
At that time the Reids owned their property in New York Street and were living in the building that was the tearoom for the sales yards that had occupied the site. They noticed a very small advertisement in the Dominion Post for two houses surplus to the University’s requirements. They fell in love with one of them and put in their successful bid. Then the hard work began. The house was cut into four pieces and the two ground floor pieces were brought over and placed on 125 wooden piles. A few months later the two top pieces, which had been stored at a yard in Te Marua, were transported and put in place.
Philippa and Jim have spent years renovating the house, bringing the exterior back to its original state. Inside they have changed some of the configuration but everything has been kept true to its 1907 style. It is with great pride that they point out the enormous stained-glass window that spans the two stories of the ornate wooden staircase. They tell me that it was removed before the house was brought here and insured for $10,000 to be transported separately.
One day, many years after the arrival of the house in Martinborough, a car pulled up outside and a man jumped out. It was Gwen and Crawford Somerset’s son Tony and he recognised the house he was raised in. As he explored the building, he reminisced about his time there as a boy. Although some rooms had been changed, Tony could recall it all exactly as it was for him.
Before leaving, I go upstairs to the north facing balcony. This high up view over the vineyards to the hills beyond is, to me, one of the best in Martinborough.
