House

29 Salamanca Road, Kelburn, Wellington
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Image: Charles Collins, 2015
Image: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015
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  • Constructed

    1923

  • Architect(s)

    William Gray Young

  • Builder(s)

  • 29 Salamanca Road is a two-storey neo-Georgian house designed by the master of that style, William Gray Young.


    This distinctive house is situated on a prominent site at the crest of Salamanca Road and is a minor local landmark.

    The house was built for a relatively well-known academic, Professor Adamson, who was the Dean of Law from 1908 – 1939 at the nearby Victoria University 


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  • close History

    • This large neo-Georgian house was designed by William Gray Young for Professor James Adamson in 1923. It was built by Allan McLean at a cost of £2250.

      James Adamson was born in Forfar in Scotland and educated at the University of Edinburgh where he studied law. He was an advocate to the Scottish Bar before an appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Law at Victoria University College led him to move to Wellington in early 1908. He returned to Scotland, briefly, in late 1908 to marry Annie Meiklejohn of Bearsden (a wealthy Glasgow suburb).

      Adamson was known as an “impressively learned but shy, dour, frustrated Scot” who with “solid and unimaginative persistence…drove his men through the requirements of the New Zealand LL.B in an accent that remained almost impenetrable to new students…” He was also known for loudness of his voice and it was said that “one did not need to attend Adamson’s lectures, but just ride up and down the cable car from where they could be clearly heard.” Adamson continued in his role as law faculty dean and held the chair of “Roman law, jurisprudence, constitutional law, international law and conflicts of laws” for thirty-one years until he retired due to ill-health in May 1939. He died in September of that year, and the house contents at 29 Salamanca Road were auctioned in February 1942.

      The house has had some substantial modern alterations in recent years, including a large single-storey wing that was added to the south of the building in 1996. This wing was re-modelled in 2000 with the addition of an attic-space extension.

    • Modifications close
      • 1923
      • (00055:11:A1140); 29 Salamanca Road, erect residence
      • 1923
      • (00432:466:39113); 29 Salamanca Road
      • 1938
      • (00056:203:B17679); 29 Salamanca Road, garage
      • 1955
      • (00056:503:B37692); 29 Salamanca Road, garage and shed
      • 1995
      • (00061:162:15202); 29 Salamanca Road, Drains
      • 1996
      • (199600078:4:20367); 29 Salamanca Road, addition of garage and deck
      • 1996
      • (00277:986:2); Building: 29 Salamanca Road
      • 1996 - 2001
      • (00666:131:376111); 29 Salamanca Road
      • 1997
      • (00078:157:31806); 29 Salamanca Road, earthworks
      • 2000
      • (00078:499:61795); 29 Salamanca Road, internal alterations
      • 2000
      • (00078:634:68033); 29 Salamanca Road, dwelling additions and alterations
      • 2001
      • (00078:1732:74080); 29 Salamanca Road, new timber retaining wall.
      • 2009
      • (00078:3454:202753); 29 Salamanca Road, construct new garage and extension of paved terrace
    • Occupation History close
      • unknown
      • Not Assessed
  • close Architectural Information
    • Building Classification(s) close

      Not assessed

    • Architecture close

      29 Salamanca Road was designed as neo-Georgian style two-storey timber house with a simple, rectangular, plan. The street façade is symmetrical and the ground floor features a central entrance door that shelters behind a grand entrance porch. The porch takes the form of a ‘portico’ with a triangular pediment that is supported on a pair of columns. The columns are unusual in that they are set in from the corners of the portico ‘beam’ and cornice, which ‘cantilevers’ past of the ends of the columns.

      The entrance door is flanked on either side by a single sash window, with an eight-over-eight glazing pattern. The windows are further ornamented with external shutter with a cut out trefoil design to the top shutter panel. There are three similar windows to the first floor. The external walls are clad in shiplap weatherboards and the roof is clad in clay Marseille tiles. The eaves soffits are fitted with wide battens that resemble Classical dentil mouldings, or are perhaps designed to resemble cantilevered timber roof beams.

      The north elevation is asymmetrical and features a splayed bay window and single individual sash window at ground floor level. The first floor features a single and a linked pair of windows – none of which have shutters.

      The south of the house is encrusted with a later c.1990s and c.2000 addition that is a made up from a strange and irregular grouping of roofs and roof-lights that detract from the simple neo-Georgian form of the main house.

      The house interior was inspected as part of the c.1997 WCC Heritage Interiors project and found to have a fine rimu-panelled entrance hall and stairs. The timber floors were also noted.

    • Materials close

      Marseille clay roof tiles

      Shiplap timber weatherboards

      Timber sash-windows

    • Setting close

      The house is set at the top of a steep rise and commands views across Wellington harbour and beyond.

      No.29 is bounded to the north by a NZ Modernist style house that appears to date from the 1960s or 70s and is clad in either board-and-battens or a long-run sheet material, and is painted forest green.

      The house to the north is a two-storey villa that has had most of its original sash windows replaced with casements. Another near neighbour is the Met Office buildings that are set at the perimeter of the Botanic Gardens.

      Salamanca Road is an extension of Bolton Street and is bounded to the east by the Botanic Gardens. The western side of the road is lined with houses, some of which are large and well-tended villas. Most are smaller and less prominent than the house at 29 Salamanca Road.

  • close Cultural Value

    29 Salamanca Road is a two-storey neo-Georgian house designed by the master of that style, William Gray Young.

    This distinctive house is situated on a prominent site at the crest of Salamanca Road and is a minor local landmark.

    The house was built for a relatively well-known academic, Professor Adamson, who was the Dean of Law from 1908 – 1939 at the nearby Victoria University 

    • 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?

        29 Salamanca Road is a two-storey neo-Georgian house designed by the master of that style, William Gray Young.

      • 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?

        This distinctive house is situated on a prominent site at the crest of Salamanca Road and is a minor local landmark.

    • Historic Value close

      • Association

        Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

        The house was built for a relatively well-known academic, Professor Adamson, who was the Dean of Law from 1908 – 1939 at the nearby Victoria University

    • Scientific Value close

      Not assessed

    • 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?

        The house has had few intrusive modern additions or alterations, with the notable exception of the addition of the southern wing. It contributes to the sense of place and continuity of Salamanca Road

    • Level of Cultural Heritage Significance close

      • Local Regional National International

        Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

        The house has local significance.

      • Representative

        Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

        The house is a good representative example of the work of prominent local architect, William Gray Young.

    • Local / Regional / National / International Importance close

      Not assessed

  • close Site Detail

    • District Plan Number

      17/ 258

    • Legal Description

      Lot 1 DP 338153

    • Heritage New Zealand Listed

      None 2013

    • Archaeological Site

      None

    • 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
      • Barrowman, Rachel. Victoria University of Wellington 1899 – 1899: A History. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1999.
      • WCC Archives ref 00055_11_A1140; 00078_4_20367; SR68608
      • WCC Heritage Inventory 1995
      • WCC Heritage Inventory 2001 ref Appendix III
      • Evening Post. 4 February 1942
      • ‘OBITUARY’. Evening Post. 28 September 1939
      • ‘PROFESSOR RETIRES’. Evening Post. 30 May 1939
      • ‘WOMEN IN PRINT’. Evening Post. 24 December 1908
    • Technical Documentation close

      Not available

    • Footnotes close

      Not available

Last updated: 11/27/2017 10:25:23 PM