House

Araporo

117 Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington

❰ ❱

Image: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015

Cityview GIS 2013

1905 - Proposed Additions to Residence – Mein Street, Wellington. Wellington City Council Archives File 00053:121:6703

House at 117 Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington. Wright, Henry Charles Clarke, 1844-1936 :Negatives. Ref: 1/1-020534-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22850922

117 Mein Street in c.1900s

National Library reference: House at 117 Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington. Wright, Henry Charles Clarke, 1844-1936 :Negatives. Ref: 1/1-020534-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22850922

Map

Constructed

1880
Architect(s)

Unknown
Builder(s)

Unknown
The house at 117 Mein Street has architectural value for its bold aesthetics. Built in the rare-to-Wellington Carpenter Gothic style, the house received elaborate decorations in its early life, much of which survive. The house was a lavish and exquisite urban dwelling in its time, and it remains an attractive fixture on Mein Street.
The house at 117 Mein Street has historical value for its association with Henry Wright, a notable, and sometimes notorious, Wellingtonian during the late nineteenth and early/mid twentieth centuries. Wright lived at the house for around forty years, making alterations and additions to the house and decorating it with elaborate designs, well and truly putting his mark on the property.

The house at 117 Mein Street has a high level of authenticity due to the retention of much of the house’s original fabric. Though both the exterior and interior have undergone several renovations and additions, there is much surviving detail from the house’s early life.
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close History
- This house was built for Henry Charles Clarke Wright in the late 1880’s as a home for his family. Mr Wright was born in the South of England in 1844, being a sickly child he was brought out to Australia at a young age to “kill or cure him”. He came to New Zealand to run a store at Whangaroa. He was then manager of mining companies at Coromandel. Between 1873 and 1876 he carried on business as a public accountant and manager of a firm of Merchants at Auckland, and was also for a time advisory accountant to the Auckland City Council.
  
  On coming to Wellington in 1877 he became manager of the branch of Guthrie and Lanarch wholesale timber and Hardware Merchants, and in 1879 was appointed by the Supreme Court, certified accountant in bankruptcy under the Debtors and Creditors Act for the Wellington District. In 1880 he became secretary of the Gear Meat Company, instrumental in the first shipment of frozen meat that left Wellington. He subsequently formed and became secretary of the Wellington Meat Preserving Co, and in 1893 established the Commercial Agency Ltd.
  
  As well as being proficient in business, he had many personal interests the included, Photography, comparative religion, ornithology and gardening. At the house in Mein Street there remains evidence of his gardens, and the glass-house which contained his collection of orchids.
  
  In his fifty-nine years in Wellington Mr Wright had become one of the city’s best known figures, being described as the most benevolent looking professional debt collector in the world. He was usually seen in a bell-topper, frock coat and check trousers, with brightly coloured tie and Opal pin. However, one of Henry Wright’s most notable statements was his notice to Epicene Women, which recommended they go home and look after their families instead of trying to gain the vote.
  
  The exact date of the house’s construction is unknown, though we know it was prior to Henry Wright’s occupation of the house in the late 1890s. In 1905 Wright added to the house, building a formal lounge. In 1938, soon after Mr Wright’s death, a garage was constructed on the property.
  
  Also on the property are two self-contained cottages, built by Wright. They were used as gardener’s cottages. They were renovated in the 1980s by the then owners, Janine and Robert Mitchell.
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street is now a Bed and Breakfast.
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street has heritage value primarily for its historical association with Henry Wright and for its design. Henry Wright was a colourful figure in Wellington – his business, interests in horticulture and photography, and politics, not to mention his sartorial style, made him an outsized figure in the city. He was once referred to as the most benevolent looking debt collector in the world. He lived at this house for forty years, and it is much of his ideas and work on the place that make the house what it is.
  
  The house also has value for its design. It was constructed in a Carpenter Gothic style rare to Wellington, and in its early life became quite elaborately decorated. Some of this has been removed, but it is easy to imagine the house in its former glory. The house is a grand fixture on Mein Street.
- Modifications close
  1880
  
  Construction
  
  1905
  
  Room added (Wellington City Council Archive File 00053:121:6703)
  
  1938
  
  Garage added (00056:206:B17868)
  
  1984
  
  Rear dwelling reinstated for conversion into separate unit (00058:0:C65768)
  
  1985
  
  New fireplace installed (00059:0:D263)
- Occupation History close
  1880
  
  Henry Wright
  
  1938 - 1956
  
  1938-1956 Andrew Quayle (blacksmith)
  
  1957 - 1971
  
  1957-1971 John S.F. Mudge
  
  1978 - 1979
  
  Kathleen Hazel
  
  1979 - 1980
  
  Ronald Kelvin
  
  1980 - 1982
  
  Kopal (Boris) Kanter
  
  1982 - 1988
  
  Janine and Robert Mitchell
  
  1988 - 1993
  
  Judith and Leo Page
  
  1993
  
  Peggy Jane Grocott
close Architectural Information
- Building Classification(s) close
  
  Not assessed
- Architecture close
  
  The house is a single storey dwelling with a partial basement. The house was constructed in the Carpenter Gothic style. The style is bold and quite rare for Wellington. The house is a stand-out on the street.
  
  Interior Style:
  
  The interior style of this house is unique in that it combines a number of decorative elements from differing stylistic periods. The feature room of the house, the living room, has ornate plaster mouldings that have been decorated with Gold leaf – the matching ceiling rose is also plaster with gold leaf. The living room also contains two imported arched Italian Stained Glass windows. Remnants of the interiors grand style are evident in the remaining fireplaces, the stained glass in the fanlight windows and the Orangery, which initially was home to a collection of orchids.
  
  Interior Planning:
  
  Additions have been made to the original house, enlarging the front room and adding a tower off to one corner. However the layout of the rest of the house seems to have remained essentially the same, with rooms coming off a central corridor, with the entrance being to the side of the front room.
- Materials close
  
  Rusticated weatherboard, timber joinery, corrugated iron roof.
  Timber used in construction: heart totara, heart matai, red pine.
- Setting close
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street is located at the top, eastern, end of the street, where Mein Street meets the town belt. The house is raised above the street, and enjoys views westward and southward over Newtown. The town belt behind provides a dramatic backdrop to the house. The house is easily one of the grander structures on Mein Street.
close Cultural Value
The house at 117 Mein Street has architectural value for its bold aesthetics. Built in the rare-to-Wellington Carpenter Gothic style, the house received elaborate decorations in its early life, much of which survive. The house was a lavish and exquisite urban dwelling in its time, and it remains an attractive fixture on Mein Street.
The house at 117 Mein Street has historical value for its association with Henry Wright, a notable, and sometimes notorious, Wellingtonian during the late nineteenth and early/mid twentieth centuries. Wright lived at the house for around forty years, making alterations and additions to the house and decorating it with elaborate designs, well and truly putting his mark on the property.
The house at 117 Mein Street has a high level of authenticity due to the retention of much of the house’s original fabric. Though both the exterior and interior have undergone several renovations and additions, there is much surviving detail from the house’s early life.
- Aesthetic Value close
  Architectural
  
  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street has architectural value for its bold aesthetics. Built in the rare-to-Wellington Carpenter Gothic style, the house received elaborate decorations in its early life, much of which survive. The house was a lavish and exquisite urban dwelling in its time, and it remains an attractive fixture on Mein Street.
  
  Townscape
  
  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street provides visual interest to its part of Newtown, and makes a significant contribution to the streetscape.
- Historic Value close
  Association
  
  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street has historical value for its association with Henry Wright, a notable, and sometimes notorious, Wellingtonian during the late nineteenth and early/mid twentieth centuries. Wright lived at the house for around forty years, making alterations and additions to the house and decorating it with elaborate designs, well and truly putting his mark on the property.
- Scientific Value close
  Archaeological
  
  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street has archaeological value for the presence of a pre-1900 building.
- Social Value close
  Identity Sense Of Place Continuity
  
  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?
  
  Around 120 years old, if not more, the house at 117 Mein Street has obvious age value, and contributes to a sense of continuity in Newtown.
- Level of Cultural Heritage Significance close
  Authentic
  
  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street has a high level of authenticity due to the retention of much of the house’s original fabric. Though both the exterior and interior have undergone several renovations and additions, there is much surviving detail from the house’s early life.
  
  Local Regional National International
  
  Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street is important at a local level.
  
  Rare
  
  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?
  
  The house at 117 Mein Street is a rare Wellington example of a house built in the Carpenter Gothic style.
- Local / Regional / National / International Importance close
  
  Not assessed
close Site Detail
- District Plan Number
  
  6/ 210
- Legal Description
  
  Pt Sec 775 Plan A/1405 Town of Wellington
- Heritage New Zealand Listed
  
  Not Listed
- Archaeological Site
  
  Pre-1900 building
- Current Uses
  
  unknown
- Former Uses
  
  unknown
- Has building been funded
  
  No
- Funding Amount
  
  Not applicable
- Earthquake Prone Status
  
  Outside Earthquake Prone Policy
close Additional Information
- Sources close
  Ball, Nigel. ‘Conservation Plan: 117 Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington’. Completed for ARCH 273: Building Heritage Conservation, VUW, 1999
  
  New Zealand Obituaries. Volume 22. Alexander Turnbull Library, F993.1, pp 1199-1200.
  
  Wellington City Council Archive Files: 00053:121:6703; 00056:206:B17868;
  
  00058:0:C65768; 00059:0:D263.
  
  Wellington City Council. ‘House – 117 Mein Street’. In Heritage Inventory 1995. WCC.
  
  Wellington City Council Building File. 1041-06-MEI117, Vol 1.
- Technical Documentation close
  
  Not available
- Footnotes close
  
  Not available

Last updated: 9/26/2016 6:29:32 PM

Constructed

Architect(s)

Builder(s)

Downloadable(s)

Architectural

Townscape

Association

Archaeological

Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

Authentic

Local Regional National International

Rare

District Plan Number

Legal Description

Heritage New Zealand Listed

Archaeological Site

Current Uses

Former Uses

Has building been funded

Funding Amount

Earthquake Prone Status