Becklands (1896)

Becklands is a homestead in Inglewood built for Dr. Thomas Harcourt Ambrose Valintine in 1896. The property - including just over 21 acres of land - had been surveyed off earlier that year by Mr.R.H. Davies.

According to a short article published in the Waitara & Inglewood Press in 1988, the house originally had eight bedrooms and five open fireplaces. It goes on to say, "The piles were of split stone with 4 x 4 ground plates and 6 x 2 floor joists. The 10-foot stud ceilings were of rimu as were the partitions, and the studs were all morticed and nailed with four-inch-long square nails."

Mr Ian Strang has provided the following information about changes in the ownership of the house:

1904 - Eleanor Eliza Nops

1907 (June) - Thomas Vernon Venables

1907 (October) - Frederick and Emily Bennett (Previous owners of the Coffee Palace in Inglewood. At this time the homestead was valued at £816.00 and the land value was £880.00.  Frederick died suddenly in 1912; his wife Emily remained in the house until it was sold)

1919 - Mary Elizabeth Weston

1920 - Harold Albert Bishop

1922 - Arthur Augustus Drake (Sold for £4,050.00)

1957 - Francis Dudley Drake

In 1988 the property (now with only 10 acres) had a valuation of $299,000.

The entrance to the house was originally from Mahoe Street. A short section of Mahoe Street has been renamed Becklands Place, after the historic homestead.

Related document:

Inglewood villa a gracious retreat (Taranaki Daily News Property Weekly 21 September 2013)