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Hulme Court

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Hulme Court
Map
General information
Architectural styleRegency architecture
Address350 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand
Coordinates36°51′25.68″S 174°46′56.11″E / 36.8571333°S 174.7822528°E / -36.8571333; 174.7822528
Designated6 June 1983
Reference no.19

Hulme Court is a category 1 historic place in Auckland, New Zealand. It is thought to be the oldest surviving house in Auckland and the oldest dwelling still standing on its original site.[1]

History

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In 1843, Hulme Court was built for Sir Frederick Whitaker, later the Premier of New Zealand.[1][2][3] It is not known who the architect of Hulme Court was, however, suggestions have been made that it could have been an engineer that Whitaker was working with.[3][4]

It was later occupied by William Hulme, Commander of British Troops in New Zealand, after whom the house is now named.[1][3] He bought the home for £610 in 1846.[5][6] It was then sold following his death in 1855 to Thomas Russell and William Aicken who subdivided the land that the house was a part of.[6][7]

During the 1850s, it acted as a temporary Government House for Governor Thomas Gove Browne.[1] It was also rented for a time by Bishop George Selwyn.[1] His wife, Sarah, described the library as "the most pleasantest room in New Zealand."[8]

Sir Francis Dillon Bell bought three of the plots of land in 1863, including Hulme Court, and lived there until 1872.[6][9] In 1872, Bell sold the property to the family of Frederick Ireland, who lived there into the early 1900s.[10][11] In the early 1910s, it was home to Dr. Alexander Kinder, who also had his surgery based out of Hulme Court.[12][13] Later on in the 1910s, it was home to W. P. Goodhue, the chief teller of the Bank of New Zealand, who died at Hulme Court in 1919.[14]

In the 1920s and 1930s, it was the residence of Walter Joseph Macklow, one of the Macklow Brothers, timber merchants at Mechanics Bay.[15] In 1941, it was bought by the Clark family, immigrants from Glasgow.[16] From 1951 until its sale in 2011, it was owned by the Maguire family.[9] During the 1950s and 1960s, it underwent several modifications and, at one point, acted as a panel-beating and paint shop.[16]

In January 2012, a restoration project of Hulme Court was begun, and was completed in April 2013.[2][17]

Description

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It is a single-storey Regency style plastered bluestone house.[1] The bluestone walls are 300mm thick that were originally plastered with lime.[1][3] It has a hipped slate roof, and shuttered sash windows.[1] On three of the four sides, there are trellised verandahs.[1][18] There is a cellar beneath the house and an attic space.[3]

There are stables and servants quarters at the side of the house, built from kauri timber.[3] The additions in the 1950s and 1960s were made in timber rather than stone.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Hulme Court". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  2. ^ a b Abadia, Karina (2 October 2012). "Refurbishing Hulme Court proving collaborative effort of great interest". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Auckland Story for 27 April 2011 - Hulme Court". Radio New Zealand (RNZ). 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  4. ^ "Herald homes of the year: Hulme Court". New Zealand Herald. 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  5. ^ "Hulme Court (Auckland, N.Z.)". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  6. ^ a b c "Early History Told in Houses". Auckland Star. Vol. LXVIII, no. 255. 27 October 1937. p. 9.
  7. ^ "Advertisements". New Zealander. Vol. 12, no. 1096. 18 October 1856. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Landmark of pioneer days awaits rescue". New Zealand Herald. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  9. ^ a b "Landmark of pioneer days awaits rescue". New Zealand Herald. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  10. ^ "Death of Mr. Frederick Ireland". New Zealand Herald. Vol. XXXI, no. 9468. 26 March 1894. p. 5.
  11. ^ "Lady's Letter from Auckland". New Zealand Mail. No. 1816. 26 December 1906. p. 30.
  12. ^ "Marriages". Auckland Star. Vol. XLIII, no. 149. 22 June 1912. p. 12.
  13. ^ "Advertisements". New Zealand Herald. Vol. XLVI, no. 14039. 20 April 1909. p. 8.
  14. ^ "Obituary". Auckland Star. Vol. L, no. 207. 1 September 1919. p. 6.
  15. ^ "Obituary". New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXXIII, no. 22531. 23 September 1936. p. 16.
  16. ^ a b Wilkinson, Tom (20 July 2021). "Parnell: A Suburb of Contrasts". Auckland History Initiative. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  17. ^ "Hulme sweet home once more". New Zealand Herald. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  18. ^ "Hulme Court". archifact. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
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